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Book_ Vi 2.1 

Copyright N?._ 


COPYRIGHT DEPOsm 











GOOD HEALTH AND 
LONG LIFE 













s 


V . 













a 
















GOOD HEALTH 
& LONG LIFE 


BY 

LUCIEN c: WARNER, M.D., LL.D. 

• • 

Author of "Fun&ions and Diseases of Women,” 

"Man in Health and Disease,” 

"Personal Memoirs,” etc. 


"Here’s to your good health and 
your families. May they live long 
and prosper.” 



ASSOCIATION PRESS 

New York: 347 Madison Avenue 

1925 








'PATTt 


Copyright, 1925, by 

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF YOUNG 
MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS 





Printed in the United States of America by 

J. J. LITTLE AND IVES COMPANY. NEW YORK 



17*25 


* 


© Cl A 8 2 3110 

'NZ-O J 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER FACIE 

I. Influence of Diet on Health and 

Long Life. 1 

II. Composition and Uses of Food . . 9 

III. Digestion .17 

IV. How Much Shall We Eat—What 

Are Calories?. 27 

V. Articles of Food. 39 

VI. Tobacco. 65 

VII. Exercise. 73 

VIII. Constipation and Auto-Intoxication . 81 

IX. Practical Suggestions for Diet and 

Menus.91 

X. Reducing and Gaining in Weight . 103 

XI. Random Thoughts. Ill 


XII. Appendix. 121 









INFLUENCE OF DIET ON HEALTH 
AND LONG LIFE 


I 


INFLUENCE OF DIET ON HEALTH AND 

LONG LIFE 

T HE majority of people do not die from old 
age, accidents, violence or from diseases 
of unknown origin. They die from mala¬ 
dies, the nature and causes of which are 
well understood. It is no exaggeration to say that 
three-fourths of all the sickness and premature 
deaths of the world can be prevented and the means 
of prevention are within human control. The most 
frequent causes of these diseases are improper food, 
bad air, lack of exercise, unsuitable clothing, over¬ 
work and mental worry. 

The most important of these causes, the one most 
under control and requiring the greatest attention 
is food. This fact becomes increasingly apparent 
as the number and variety of our foods are in¬ 
creased. When the diet was limited to a few simple 
articles mostly raised in the immediate neighbor¬ 
hood of the home there was less danger from over¬ 
eating or of eating food that was injurious than 
at present when our supply is drawn from every 
climate and every nation of the world. 

Fortunately, modern science has kept pace with 
these changes and the remedies for the present con¬ 
ditions are well understood. Foods have been ana- 


13] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


lyzed so that we know accurately their composition 
and food values. The process of digestion has been 
thoroughly studied and we know the part which 
each element of food has to contribute in sus¬ 
taining the body. The X-ray, together with ex¬ 
periments on the lower animals, has enabled us to 
trace the entire process of digestion and to know 
the action of different foods as they perform their 
functions of warming the body, supplying it with 
energy, and repairing its waste tissues. It is pos¬ 
sible, therefore, for an intelligent person to regu¬ 
late and control his diet so as to use nearly all 
of the great variety of foods which find their way 
to our markets, and to enjoy good health with a 
fair prospect of long life and a happy old age. 

The results of this knowledge are already ap¬ 
parent in the improved health of the present gen¬ 
eration as compared with that of fifty or sixty 
years ago. The census of 1855 for Massachusetts, 
the first state to compile accurate statistics on this 
subject, shows that the expectation of life at birth 
was then forty years. In 1910 this had increased to 
fifty-one years, a gain during this period of eleven 
years in the average length of life. In 1920 there 
had been a further gain of four years, making a 
total of fifteen years’ gain in sixty-five years. 

This result has been obtained by the people of an 
average state, partly because of better medical 
and surgical treatment, but chiefly because of bet¬ 
ter knowledge of diet and of general sanitary con¬ 
ditions. Much of this improvement has come from 
the better care and feeding of infants and chil- 


[4] 







INFLUENCE OF DIET 


dren, by which the death rate of children has been 
reduced more than one-half. The instruction given 
to mothers by physicians and trained nurses and 
the greater use made of maternity hospitals have 
contributed very largely to this improvement. 
Through his writings and instructions to mothers, 
the late Dr. L. E. Holt of New York was the 
means of saving many thousands of lives. The 
whole subject of the diet, exercise, and care of chil¬ 
dren has been almost revolutionized during the 
last fifty years with the result that there has been 
a great advance not only in the health and looks, 
but in the size of the young people of the present 
generation, so that it is a common remark that sons 
are taller than the father and daughters than the 
mother. This is especially true among the more 
intelligent portions of the community who have 
been influenced by the modern methods of feeding 
and caring for children, but among the poor, and 
especially among those of recent foreign extrac¬ 
tion, there is still great need of improvement. 

The greatest evil from the violation of sanitary 
laws at the present time is not among children, 
but among the adult population, after parental 
authority has been withdrawn. Most parents 
control their children better than they do them¬ 
selves. During the period of active manhood and 
womanhood, either through ignorance or the care¬ 
less disregard of the laws of health the seeds of 
disease are planted in the body which later are 
the cause of sickness, misery, and premature death. 
Among the most frequent diseases thus caused are 


[51 








GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


tuberculosis, diseases of the heart, liver, and kid¬ 
neys, hardening of the arteries, dyspepsia, rheuma¬ 
tism and neuralgia. Some of these diseases are 
not immediately fatal, but they undermine the 
health so that many pass away before the age of 
sixty. Those who do not, have the appearance of 
being old and decrepit at the time of life when 
they should be in full physical and mental vigor. 

The causes of all these diseases are now well 
understood, and for the most part they can be 
prevented by the proper regulation of diet and 
exercise, and by living a wholesome and temperate 
life. Tuberculosis has received especial attention 
during the past thirty years, and the deaths from 
it have been reduced more than one-half in many 
of our cities. A similar reduction is possible with 
the other diseases, but the time to accomplish this 
is before they are developed rather than after 
disease has invaded the vital organs of the body. 

The improvement that has already been made in 
the health of the country is only a foretaste of what 
can and should be accomplished. It is the opinion 
of those who have given most careful study to 
the subject that it is entirely possible to increase 
the average of life from the present limit of fifty - 
five years to sixty-five years. This would mean 
a reduction in the death rate, which would make 
a saving of over 400,000 lives each year in this 
country. It would mean to several millions of 
people a healthy, happy, and serviceable old age 
in place of sickness, suffering, and premature death. 
It only requires that public interest shall be thor- 


[6] 






INFLUENCE OF DIET 


oughly aroused so that the care now exercised by 
the few shall be used by the great mass of the 
people. 

To accomplish this result requires a knowledge 
of the laws of health, some self-denial and constant 
care, but this is a small price to pay for the health 
and happiness which it will bring. It is the au¬ 
thor’s purpose to describe in plain simple language 
the means by which this can be brought about so 
that any intelligent person who will follow the 
directions may have as reward a reasonable hope 
of good health and long life. The. statements made 
are based on the investigations of the leading scien¬ 
tists and medical men of the country. Where there 
is a difference in the opinions of those of equal 
knowledge and reputation, as sometimes happens, 
this difference will be frankly stated. The author 
has no fads of his own to exploit, but it has been 
his endeavor to present to the public the latest 
and most reliable teachings of science on the most 
important subject of preserving one’s health and 
thereby securing a ripe and happy old age. 


[7] 
























I 



COMPOSITION AND USES OF 

FOOD 

























II 


COMPOSITION AND USES OF FOOD 

T HE purposes of food are to supply and 
renew the waste tissues of the body, to 
furnish heat to keep it warm and energy 
to perform its various functions. Almost 
all articles of food consist of three elements com¬ 
bined in varying proportions: protein; starch or 
its equivalent, sugar; and fats. 

Protein is the element of food which goes to 
supply and renew the tissues of the body, while 
the chief uses of starch or sugar and the fats are 
to supply heat and energy. The conversion of food 
into a form to make it available for the uses of 
the body is an elaborate chemical process. All 
chemical processes are accompanied by heat and 
heat is produced in the conversion of protein into 
bodily tissues, but the chief source of the heat is 
from the fats and the starch or sugar. 

Protein is the first and the most important ele¬ 
ment of food. It is the chief constituent of lean 
meats, of fish and of fowls of every kind. It also 
exists in egg under the name of albumen; in milk 
under the name of casein or cheese; and in wheat 
and other cereals under the name of gluten. Ordi¬ 
nary lean meat or fish contains from 20% to 30% 
of protein, milk 3%, eggs 15%, and cheese 30%. 


[11] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


All of these are richer in protein than are the 
cereals and vegetables. Peas and beans contain 
about 8%, whole wheat or rye bread from 9% to 
10%, cornbread 8%, cooked oatmeal 6%, rice 8%, 
and potatoes 6%. These figures do not show quite 
the relative value of the protein in these different 
articles for the protein from meats, eggs, and milk 
is more readily absorbed and taken into the system 
than is that which comes from the grains or ce¬ 
reals. Experiments show that under favorable con¬ 
ditions 95% of the protein from rare beef is 
absorbed into the system and is available for the 
renewal of tissues, whereas fully one-third of the 
protein from cereals passes through the alimentary 
canal undigested. This fact is urged with much 
force as an argument in favor of a mixed diet 
rather than one of vegetables only, as the mixed 
diet is more easily digested and gives greater 
strength and endurance. This makes it a better 
diet for building up the strength of invalids, and 
also for keeping up the strength of those subject to 
great exposure or to great physical exertion. 

Starch and sugar are known under the technical 
name of carbohydrates and are the chief source of 
the heat and energy of the body. Starch is the 
chief ingredient of all grains and cereals, also of 
potatoes, sago, farina, and tapioca. It is the largest 
single element of food consumed by the average 
person. Several of the organs of the body, like 
the saliva glands of the mouth and the secretions 
of the liver and pancreas, are especially provided 
for the digestion of starch, so it would seem to 


[12] 






COMPOSITION AND USES OF FOOD 


be the design of nature that starch should form 
an important part of our food. 

Fats also supply fuel and energy for the body, 
and in a more concentrated form than the starch 
or sugar. One ounce of fat is equal to two and one- 
fourth ounces of starch or sugar. It also has a 
special function to perform in softening and lubri¬ 
cating the food in its passage along the intestines 
as will be explained in the next chapter. In ad¬ 
dition to this, some of the fat is stored away among 
the muscles and under the skin of the body where 
it assists in keeping out the cold and also acts as a 
reservoir from which the body can draw in case 
of sickness or of long privation or exposure. 

In addition to the three elements of food al¬ 
ready mentioned there are other elements known 
as mineral salts and vitamins which are necessary, 
but in much smaller quantities. These constitute 
less than 2% of the volume of our food, but the 
presence of this small amount is vital to our life 
and health. In some respects they remind one of 
the boy’s definition of salt: “It is the stuff that 
makes our food taste bad when we don’t have 
any.” Mineral salts and vitamins are elements 
in our food which make people sick when they are 
not present. 

The most important of the mineral salts are 
lime, phosphorus, sulphur, potassium, sodium, and 
iron. The lime and phosphorus combined as phos¬ 
phate of lime are the chief ingredients of the bones 
and make up about 85% of the bony matter of 
the body. The phosphorus is also present in 


[ 13 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


small amounts in the brain, the glandular tissues, 
and in the blood. Sodium is found chiefly in the 
form of chloride of sodium or common salt. Po¬ 
tassium is usually found in combination with phos¬ 
phorus and is present in the blood corpuscles, the 
protoplasm of the muscles and in the secretions of 
the various glands. Iron is one of the constituents 
of the blood and while the amount is very small 
that little is very important. 

Vitamins are elements in our food of somewhat 
recent discovery. They exist in the form of vitamin 
A, which is “fat soluble,” and vitamin B, which 
is “water soluble.” These are of vital importance 
both in building up the bodies of the young and in 
maintaining the health and vigor of the adult. The 
absence or lack of these elements in the food is 
now considered the chief cause of scurvy, beri-beri, 
and pellagra, which often afflict sailors and others 
who are compelled to use prepared foods or a diet 
deficient in fresh meats, fresh vegetables and fruits. 

The vitamins and also the mineral salts needed 
by the body are all found in our food in the form 
that can be absorbed into the system. In fact, 
very few of the mineral salts can be absorbed in 
their pure state, but must be taken as nature has 
provided them in our food. Some foods are much 
richer than others in these elements. Most of the 
standard grains are well supplied with both vi¬ 
tamins and mineral salts but these are contained 
in the outer coating of the grain and, unfor¬ 
tunately, the modern method of milling removes 
over three-fourths of this from the finished prod- 


[ 14 ] 






COMPOSITION AND USES OF FOOD 


uct. It is little less than a crime that wheat, rye, 
corn, oats, and rice should thus be robbed of their 
vital elements in their preparation as food for 
human consumption and it ought to be prevented 
by the state. Some have tried to remedy the dif¬ 
ficulty by adding to white flour extracts taken 
from the wheat bran, but the experiment is of 
doubtful value. In any case it is better and much 
simpler to use bread made of whole wheat flour 
which contains the mineral salts and vitamins as 
nature supplies them, rather than to remove these 
elements and then seek to replace them. 

A striking example of the effects of a diet defi¬ 
cient in mineral salts and vitamins occurred even 
as recently as during our late World War and on a 
German ship, although the Germans claim to lead 
the world in medical science. In 1915 the German 
steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm crossed the ocean on 
a privateering expedition well stocked with fresh 
meats, eggs, condensed milk, white bread, cakes, 
refined cereals, polished rice, oleo, and coffee, but 
without whole wheat flour, fresh vegetables, or 
fruit. Even the drinking water was distilled from 
the salt water and contained no lime. While cruis¬ 
ing along the American coast one hundred and 
ten of the force became sick and unfit for duty 
and the rest were on the verge of breaking down 
when on April 11th they steamed into James River 
opposite Newport News and were interned by our 
Government. The disease was pronounced beri-beri, 
and they were all put on a diet of wheat bran, 
whole wheat bread, fresh vegetables, and fruits, es- 


[ 15 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


pecially spinach, carrots, turnips, cabbage, string 
beans, asparagus, oranges, and lemons. The re¬ 
sult was that in ten days forty-seven of the sick 
returned to duty and within a few weeks the entire 
force recovered their health. Their diet had been 
abundant in quantity but it lacked the mineral 
salts and vitamins which are essential to health. 
In their anxiety to give their crew only the best, 
they had refined out of the food some of its most 
important elements. 

The same method is being practiced in thou¬ 
sands of families all over our country but it is 
not usually carried quite so far. It causes ill health 
which may terminate in rickets, scrofula, or tuber¬ 
culosis, but the source of the disease is attributed 
to inheritance or to some mysterious Providence 
instead of to ignorance in the preparation and se¬ 
lection of our food. 

If our food was limited to bread and cereals pre¬ 
pared from these finely milled grains the result 
would be disastrous to the entire nation, but with 
a mixed diet the deficiency is in part supplied from 
other sources. The mineral salts and vitamins are 
present in milk, cheese, and eggs, and also in 
nearly all the vegetables and fruits. Iron is es¬ 
pecially abundant in spinach, asparagus, string 
beans, and eggs. Phosphorus and lime are abun¬ 
dant in beans, carrots, turnips, and cabbage. Where 
these form a substantial part of our diet we may 
not suffer from eating white bread and refined ce¬ 
reals, but even in such cases the health would be 
better if we used flour and cereals from which the 
outer covering had not been carefully removed. 


[161 






DIGESTION 



































Ill 


DIGESTION 

D IGESTION is the process by which food 
is treated and changed so that it can be 
absorbed into the system to renew the tis¬ 
sues of the body and to supply it with 
heat and energy. It is an elaborate and delicate 
chemical operation, and yet the general principles 
are so simple that they are easily understood by 
the average reader. A knowledge of the process of 
digestion is not essential in order to follow the 
directions about the proper use of food, but it 
will add greatly to the interest of these direc¬ 
tions if one knows the reasons for them. 

The first organ of digestion is the mouth. Here 
the food is divided into fine particles by the ac¬ 
tion of the teeth and is moistened so that it can 
easily be swallowed and pass into the stomach. 

In addition to this there is another and very 
important function of digestion which is performed 
in the mouth. All the starch of our food must be 
converted into glucose before it can be absorbed and 
taken into the system. The first part of this proc¬ 
ess is performed in the mouth by the action of the 
saliva which changes this starch into dextrine and 
maltine and so prepares it for the further changes 
that occur after leaving the stomach. If the starch 
of our food passes into the stomach without being 


[ 19 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


mixed with this saliva, it cannot be changed into 
glucose and so must pass through the body un¬ 
digested. It is, therefore, of first importance that 
the food should be thoroughly masticated and mixed 
with saliva before it is swallowed. If one must bolt 
one’s food, it will do less harm to bolt the meat than 
the bread and cereal, but it is very desirable that 
plenty of time should be taken in eating every 
kind of food. One who is a fast eater should take 
the matter up systematically and learn to eat 
slowly. It cannot be done by merely trying to 
think of it at each meal, but one must practice eat¬ 
ing slowly until it becomes a habit and requires no 
further thought. This habit can be helped by 
having the food in such form that it requires con¬ 
siderable chewing before it can be swallowed. One 
of the advantages of toast over plain bread is that 
it has to be chewed. When cereal is served with 
milk or cream it is a temptation to swallow it 
with the moisture of the milk rather than to take 
the time to thoroughly mix it with saliva. For this 
reason extra care should be taken in eating moist 
cereals or any food flooded with milk or cream. 
For the same reason the food should never be 
washed down with water or with hot drinks of any 
kind. It does no harm to take a moderate amount 
of fluid with the meal provided it is taken between 
the different mouthfuls and not when the mouth 
contains food. 

The second organ of digestion is the stomach, 
which is connected with the mouth by the oesoph¬ 
agus, a flexible tube about ten inches in length. 


[ 20 ] 





DIGESTION 


ihe function of the stomach is to carry forward the 
digestion of the food already begun in the mouth. 
The saliva has a little additional time to act upon 
the starch and so to complete the changes begun 
in the mouth. The different articles of food are 
thoroughly mixed together by the peristaltic or 
churning action of the stomach. Here also the first 
process in the digestion of the protein takes place. 
The glands of the stomach furnish two secretions: 
hydrochloric acid and pepsin. The hydrochloric 
acid has the property of dissolving the protein. 
Pepsin is the same material as the rennet which is 
used by the cheese-maker to separate the curd or 
cheese from the milk. This, working with the hy¬ 
drochloric acid, prepares the food for the further 
changes that take place after leaving the stomach. 
The process of digestion in the stomach is carried 
on without the voluntary act of the person, whereas 
the digestion in the mouth is largely subject to 
control. It is quite important, however, that one 
should do nothing to arrest the process of diges¬ 
tion for the first hour after a full meal. Violent 
exercise or a great nervous shock, like the sud¬ 
den news of the death of a dear friend, will often 
stop digestion so as to cause vomiting or severe 
sickness. For this reason it is desirable not to 
engage in any severe physical or mental labor di¬ 
rectly after eating. This is particularly true after 
a hearty meal. If a business man can only devote 
twenty minutes to his noonday lunch he should 
make it a very light lunch, like a glass of malted 
milk and egg with a sandwich, rather than take 


[ 21 ] 








GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


a hearty meal. The food may remain in the stom¬ 
ach anywhere from one to six hours before it all 
passes on into the intestines, the time depending 
on the kind and amount of food and the state of 
health of the individual. After entering the small 
intestines it immediately comes into contact with 
the secretions from the liver and pancreas which 
at this point empty into the intestines. Here the 
process of preparing the food for absorption into 
the system is completed. The fats are changed by 
the alkaline bile into a soapy substance which, 
mixing with the other portion of the food softens 
the whole mass and assists its passage through the 
intestines. At the same time the secretions of the 
liver and pancreas make the fats soluble in water 
so that they are easily absorbed. Here also the 
digestion of the starch and sugar are completed. 
The starch has already been changed into dextrine 
and maltine by the action of the saliva and now 
these together with th% sugar are changed into 
glucose which is very soluble and is readily taken 
into the system. In this manner all the essential 
elements of food are prepared for their use in the 
body. 

The small intestines are about thirty feet in 
length and extend from the outlet of the stomach 
to the large intestine, or colon. They are supplied 
during their entire length with thousands of minute 
absorbing glands which have the property of tak¬ 
ing from the digested food those portions which 
are suitable for absorption into the blood. Thus the 
protein, already digested in the stomach, is taken 


[ 22 ] 





DIGESTION 


up and carried to every part of the body to pro¬ 
vide for the growth and repair of its tissues, and 
the fats, starch and sugar are burned to supply 
the heat and energy of the system. All of these 
operations are chemical actions which generate 
heat and so these changes in the protein as well 
as in the fats, starch, and sugar contribute to the 
supply of heat for the body. 

The part of the food which is not absorbed into 
the circulation passes on from the small intestines 
to the large intestine, or colon. Here it moves along 
more slowly and becomes less watery until finally 
it reaches the rectum and is discharged as fecal 
matter from the body. 

We have now described the process by which 
the food is prepared for its use in supplying heat 
and energy to the body and in renewing its waste 
tissues. It remains to describe briefly how the waste 
tissues, which have been replaced with new tis¬ 
sues, are removed from the body. There are four 
organs of elimination and removal of this waste 
material: the digestive organs already described, 
the kidneys, the lungs, and the skin. 

The chief function of the digestive organs is to 
prepare the food for absorption into the system 
and to carry away the undigested portions. But, 
in addition to this, a certain portion of the wastes 
of the body find their way into the intestinal tract 
and pass off with the waste matter of the food. 

A still larger portion of the wastes oi the body 
i 9 removed by the kidneys in the urine. This is 
especially true of the broken down and worn out 


[ 23 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


muscular tissues. These come in contact with oxy¬ 
gen introduced into the blood through the lungs, 
and form uric acid. This is carried by the blood 
to the kidneys which strain out the uric acid and 
other impurities and these are mixed with the water 
of the urine and discharged from the body. 

The lungs, while not usually considered as an 
organ of digestion, still play an important part in 
the digestive process. The lungs introduce air into 
the system. This air comes into close contact with 
the blood in the minute divisions of the lungs and 
here gives up to the blood a portion of its oxygen 
and receives in its place carbonic acid gas. It is the 
same process that takes place in the stove or fur¬ 
nace; air is introduced into the stove, the oxygen 
from this air unites with the burning wood or coal 
and produces carbonic acid gas, which escapes with 
the draft up the chimney. In each case the oxygen 
of the air uniting with the carbon of the food or 
fuel produces heat and gives off carbonic acid 
gas. The chief difference is that the one is a slow 
combustion producing only moderate heat and the 
other is rapid combustion producing intense heat, 
but the total heat produced in each case is the 
same. 

Not only do the lungs eliminate carbonic acid gas 
but also water in the form of vapor. A person 
breathes upon his eye glasses and they are moist 
enough to be cleaned by wiping off the moisture. 
The amount of water thus removed from the body 
each day is considerable. If only a single drop is 
removed with each breath this would make about 


[ 24 ] 






DIGESTION 


sixteen drops each minute, or one ounce each hour, 
or one and one-half pints in twenty-four hours. 

The skin has also an important part to perform 
in removing water from the body in the form of 
perspiration. In cold weather or when the body 
is in repose the amount of perspiration is relatively 
small, but in hot weather or when taking violent 
exercise the amount is very much larger. In a boat 
race between two college crews it often happens 
that a member of the crew loses as much as eight 
to ten pounds in rowing a single race of four miles. 

It is an interesting fact that the organs of elim¬ 
ination can to a considerable extent supplement 
each other. When one sweats profusely or when one 
takes a watery cathartic much less water passes 
off through the kidneys. This is one of the many 
provisions of nature by which our life and health 
are guarded in every way that is possible. No ma¬ 
chine made by man can bear any comparison with 
the human body in the perfection of its plan, the 
elaboration of its details, the arrangement for re¬ 
pairs, and the interchangeable functions by which 
one organ can in part do the work of another when 
it is out of order. 


[ 25 ] 
















I 


HOW MUCH SHALL WE EAT 
WHAT ARE CALORIES? 



IV 


HOW MUCH SHALL WE EAT—WHAT ARE 

CALORIES? 

|S we have already remarked, good health 
j \ an d long life depend more upon our food 
Xj^than upon any other single cause. The ques¬ 
tion of what we shall eat and how much 
is of vital importance and is ever before us. 

Some have claimed that the appetite is a suffi¬ 
cient guide as to the amount and kind of food 
needed. It might be so in a simple state of nature, 
but it does not apply under modern conditions. 
Even animals, when domesticated, cannot be trusted 
to eat without guidance. The horse and cow do 
very well while confined to the short grass of their 
native pasture, but give them access to a bin of 
oats or a field of cabbages and they will gorge 
themselves sick. Those who have had the care of 
dogs know that they must be carefully controlled 
in the selection and amount of their food. We re¬ 
strict them to dog biscuit and few tidbits from the 
table, but we have to keep the garbage pail cov¬ 
ered or they will eat themselves sick in a single 
night. 

The same principle holds true with men, women, 
and children. As an example of the perversity of 
the appetite in determining the amount of food 
required, who has not noticed the desire to eat 


[ 29 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


more on Sundays, or on days when one is about 
the house with nothing to do, than on days of hard 
work when the extra food was really needed to fur¬ 
nish the extra energy required? 

If one lived wholly on a few simple articles of 
food, one’s appetite might be a fairly safe guide 
as to the amount one should eat, but the whole 
trend of the modern culinary art is to make foods 
tempting to the appetite. Not only is there a great 
variety of food but it is made attractive by adding 
spices, flavoring extracts, and sweets so that the 
very odor of the food shall excite the desire to 
eat it. Under such conditions the appetite is not 
only stimulated to overeating but it is so per¬ 
verted that it desires food that is not nourishing 
or wholesome. Many persons under the spur of 
the appetite make out a meal wholly of sweets 
or other dainties which are largely deficient in the 
element needed to build up the body. The soda 
fountain lunches now so largely used by clerks and 
stenographers are rarely such as to build up the 
health and strength and are responsible for the 
physical breakdown of thousands of our young men 
and women. It is absolutely essential that we 
should use our intelligence in the selection of our 
food, as much as we do in the selection of our 
clothing, or in the use of our time. 

In one particular we may usually accept the 
guidance of our appetite and that is not to eat 
when we do not desire food, and especially when 
food is repulsive to us. This is often the signal 
that our last meal has not digested well and that 


[ 30 ] 






HOW MUCH SHALL WE EATf 


our digestive organs need a rest of a few hours be¬ 
fore they are again called on to function. A day’s 
rest without food is all that is needed to restore 
the health and is much better than to keep the 
digestive organs stirred up and irritated by forcing 
on them food which they do not want. 

In determining how much food we require we 
cannot weigh our food and say it should be so 
many pounds per day, for the value of food de¬ 
pends upon the amount of nourishment it con¬ 
tains, and different kinds of food have very different 
food values. A single slice of bread and butter 
will go further in warming the body and repairing 
its wastes than a whole pound of lettuce, cab¬ 
bage, or turnips. 

It is necessary, therefore, to have some other 
measure for food values than simply weight, and to 
meet this demand the modern scientist has adopted 
the word calorie. A calorie is the amount of heat 
required to raise one kilogram of water one degree 
centigrade. It represents strictly speaking the fuel 
value rather than the food value but the two are 
so nearly identical that the same term is used for 
both. It has nothing to do with the kind or qual¬ 
ity of the food, but only with its food value. An 
ounce of wheat bread equals 75 calories, an ounce 
of butter 200 calories, of cheese 115 calories, of lean 
beef or mutton 60 calories, of potatoes 25 calories, 
of apples 12 calories, of lettuce or tomatoes 6 calo¬ 
ries of squash or turnips 10 calories. This short¬ 
list’illustrates how different articles of food vary 
greatly in their food value. 


[ 31 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


The amount of food that one should take in a 
day as measured in calories will vary according to 
the size of the person, his employment, and the 
state of his health. The normal amount with an 
average adult will be from 2,000 to 3,500 calories. 
Men generally require from 300 to 400 calories per 
day more than women, and men engaged in heavy 
work, especially if out of doors, may require more 
than 3,500 calories. 

There are two methods of measuring the amount 
of food required; one is to measure the food actu¬ 
ally taken into the system and to experiment until 
the amount is found which is necessary to main¬ 
tain good health. The other is to measure for 
several days both the food taken and also the 
amount of the excretions from the body and thus to 
learn what portion of the food is absorbed into 
the system and what portion passes away undi¬ 
gested. This latter method is the more accurate, for 
the digestive organs will only absorb the amount 
actually needed to supply the heat, energy, and 
repairs of the system, and any surplus leaves the 
body undigested. Elaborate tables have been pre¬ 
pared showing the amount needed by different per¬ 
sons, but the amount required even by the same 
person varies so much with the daily changes in 
employment and activity that no fixed rules can be 
established. A person sleeping or lying quietly in 
bed requires less than one who exercises moderately, 
and one who takes very active or prolonged phys¬ 
ical exercise may require twice as much food as 
one sitting quietly at home. Children need more 


[ 32 ] 






HOW MUCH SHALL WE EAT? 


proportionately than adults as they must provide 
for growth as well as waste. Persons of sedentary 
habits like clerks, bookeepers, etc., need much less 
than those leading an active life. Brain workers do 
not require any more food than others of sedentary 
habits but it is especially important that they 
should have a properly balanced diet. Boys usually 
need more than girls for the reason that their play 
is more vigorous and active. 

While no table can give accurately the amount 
of food each person needs, yet such a table can be 
very helpful in solving the problem if it is studied 
carefully and used intelligently. The most satis¬ 
factory rule with growing children under fifteen 
years of age is to use the weight of the child as 
the standard of measurement of its needs. With a 
child two years old or under, multiply its weight in 
pounds by 45 and it will give the number of 
calories of food required each day. With a child 
from three to five years old, multiply the weight by 
40. From six to nine, multiply by 36. From ten 
to twelve, multiply by 32; and from thirteen to 
fifteen, multiply by 30. To illustrate this rule take 
a child ten years old who weighs sixty pounds. 
Multiply 60 by 32 and you have 1920 calories as 
. the amount of food required daily. 

If a child is more than usually fleshy or thin 
allowance must be made for this, for a fat child 
needs less than one of average weight and a lean 
child may need extra feeding. 

After a child is fifteen years old the height be¬ 
comes the best standard of measurement of the 


[ 33 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


amount of food needed. Take the height of the 
person in inches and multiply it as follows: 


From 15 

to 

18, multiply by 

50 

a 

19 

a 

25, 

n 

it 

46 

u 

26 

it 

35, 

n 

ft 

42 

tt 

36 

a 

45, 

tt 

ft 

38 

a 

46 

n 

60, 

(t 

it 

34 

tt 

61 

it 

70, 

it 

It 

30 

After 70 



(C 

tt 

27 


With an average man whose full height is five 


feet ten inches 
lows: 

this 

table will 

work 

out 

as fol 

From 15 to 18, 

height 62 

inches 

X 

50 = 

3100 calories 

“ 19 “ 25, 

U 

70 

ii 

X 

46 = 

3220 

ii 

“ 26 “ 35, 

ii 

70 

ii 

X 

42 = 

2940 

a 

“ 36 “ 45, 

a 

70 

ii 

X 

38 = 

2660 

a 

“ 46 « 60, 

a 

70 

a 

X 

34 = 

2380 

a 

“ 61 “ 70, 

a 

70 

a 

X 

30 = 

2100 

ii 

After 70 

a 

70 

a 

X 

27 = 

1890 

ii 


This table is prepared for an average man or 
woman in good health and taking moderate exer¬ 
cise. A person who is sick, lying in bed, or resting 
about the house should take less than this, while a 
person engaged in active physical exercise like 
tramping, playing tennis, working on the farm, or 
at other labor requiring physical exertion will re¬ 
quire more than this amount. It has been found 
that a person while taking vigorous exercise uses 
up from 100 to 150 calories of food per hour more 
than when at rest. It will, therefore, be seen that 
the same person may require from 800 to 1,200 


[ 34 ] 







HOW MUCH SHALL WE EATt 


more calories of food in a day when taking vigorous 
exercise than when resting. 

It will be observed that this table allows a smaller 
amount of food with advancing years. This is 
a very important matter, and many persons break 
in health before they are sixty years old because 
they do not cut down the amount of their food. As 
they advance in years their habits are less active 
and they require less food. But even more impor¬ 
tant than this, the digestive organs are less vigorous 
and they cannot dispose of surplus food without 
injury to the general health. 

There is another problem in diet which is quite 
as important as the amount of food eaten but 
which is not shown in the calorie measurement, 
and that is the relative amount of protein, starch 
or sugar, and fats contained in each article or in 
the mixture of them which constitute one’s meal. 
It is just as necessary that our food should contain 
the proper proportion of these three elements as 
that the total amount should be correct. The pro¬ 
portions in a well balanced meal are not entirely 
rigid as they vary somewhat in persons of different 
age and with changes in climate, in employment, 
and in the state of health. Persons living in a 
cold climate need more fats than those living in a 
warm climate. The diet of the Eskimo is made 
up almost entirely of fats of seals and other Arctic 
animals. A person needs more fats in the winter 
than in the summer, especially if his occupation 
takes him largely out of doors. The proportion 
of protein, starch, and fats for the average person 


[ 35 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


is estimated to be as follows: protein, 10% to 15%; 
starch, 60% to 65%; fats, 20% to 25%. The 
starches and the fats each furnish heat and energy 
to the system and for this reason they are to some 
extent interchangeable, but the amount of protein 
should be quite uniform if good health is to 
be maintained. Growing children should be well 
supplied with protein to build up new tissues as 
well as to provide for waste. The large appetite 
of the growing child is nature’s way of providing 
for this extra need. People over fifty do not need 
as large a proportion of protein as those who are 
young. 

The amount of protein needed by the system 
does not vary as much as does that of the starches, 
sugar, and fats. One would naturally suppose 
that a man who works hard would need an extra 
supply of protein to make good the extra use of 
his muscles J but it is found that it is extra hydro¬ 
carbons and fat that are demanded. These furnish 
the energy for the body as well as the heat, and 
for this reason the body when under severe strain 
must have an extra supply of starch, sugar, and 
fats. 

It is not always possible so to adjust our diet 
as to get just the proportion of protein, starch, 
and fats that we desire, but perfect proportions 
are not necessary. Within reasonable limits the 
system can dispose of an excess of either protein, 
starch, or fat without injury, and it is probable 
that to some extent their uses may be inter¬ 
changeable. We know that starch, sugar, and fats 


[ 36 ] 






ROW MUCH SHALL WE EAT? 


are in part interchangeable; also that protein fur¬ 
nishes heat as well as repairs; but it has not been 
proven that either starch or fat can repair waste 
tissues. 

While a small excess of protein is easily dis¬ 
posed of without injury, a large excess is often the 
cause of serious trouble. The system can only use 
what it needs in repairing the tissues of the body, 
and the excess has to be eliminated in some way. 
Protein is more likely to ferment or become putrid 
and poisonous than starch, sugar, or fats. Ptomaine 
poison, diarrhea, and intestinal diseases are much 
more likely to come from protein than from other 
forms of food, and are more likely to come from 
meats than vegetables, though they may come from 
either source. 

The average American is much more likely to 
eat too much than too little. The effect of this 
may not be felt at once but if continued after one 
reaches middle life it is almost certain to cause 
serious trouble. The age of fifty is an important 
milestone in the life of every individual as it is 
the turning point between full maturity and ad¬ 
vancing age. If a person has lived a temperate life 
so that he reaches this age with a sound body he 
tnay confidently look forward to many happy ^years 
of most fruitful and efficient service, but many pei 
sons at this age have already sown the seeds of 
future disease and are suffering from enlarged liver 
or spleen, constipation, indigestion, Bright’s disease, 
rheumatism, neuralgia, or hardened arteries. I his 
is the price that nature demands for overeating, 


[ 37 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


overwork, and for the evil of ignorant or deliberate 
self-indulgence. 

The wreck of human lives from drink has been 
exploited until it is thoroughly understood, but 
the wreck caused by improper food and over¬ 
eating is even greater, though it is not so generally 
understood. For this reason the great mass of 
the people still go on making invalids of themselves 
and filling premature graves. The drink evil has 
been lessened now that there is national prohibi¬ 
tion and there is hope that the new generation may 
reach the full benefit of this change, but who is 
to protect them from the evils of overeating? 
How can they be taught to look at life in its true 
perspective and to choose the blessing of health, 
comfort, and happiness which can be secured at 
the cost of a slight amount of self-denial rather 
than to choose self-indulgence which leads to cer¬ 
tain sickness, suffering, and premature death. 
Where is the popular movement that shall save the 
nation from gluttony and shall develop a genera¬ 
tion of men and women, a fair portion of whom 
shall reach their eightieth year? Under present 
conditions we do not know what the human race 
is capable of. If with all the handicap of disease 
so much progress has been made during the past 
century in knowledge, science, inventions, and the 
promotion of the general welfare, what may we not 
expect in another hundred years if preventable 
diseases can be eliminated so that our bodies and 
minds can have a free chance for development? 


138 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 



Y 


ARTICLES OF FOOD 
Water 

W ATER is not generally included among 
the articles of food but there are many 
reasons why it should be. Sixty per cent 
of the weight of the body is made up of 
water, and water constitutes nearly the same pro¬ 
portion of our entire food. Milk contains 86% 
water, and soups are mostly water. Such vegetables 
as tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce, turnips, beets, and 
spinach, as they are ordinarily prepared for the 
table, contain from 80% to 90% of water. Even a 
slice of fresh bread contains 36% of water, a beef 
steak or mutton chop 72%, and an egg 70%. 
Nearly all fruits are largely composed of water. 

Water is nature’s universal solvent and will dis¬ 
solve in some proportion almost every known ele¬ 
ment. All our food is reduced to a liquid form 
by the action of water and so circulates to every 
part of the body where it furnishes heat and energy 
and does its work of repair. The daily consump¬ 
tion of water by the average person is from three 
to four quarts. From one-third to one-half of 
this amount is contained in the regular food, but 
the rest is taken as water, tea, coffee, or other 
fluid with the meals and between the meals. 

Ordinary drinking water as it comes to us through 


[411 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


the soil contains in solution small quantities of 
many mineral substances such as lime, magnesia, 
soda, potash, iron, silica, etc. These all have a place 
in the human system, and the water we drink is one 
of the means by which they are introduced. Such 
substances are not impurities unless it is under 
special circumstances where they exist in unusually 
large amounts. The impurities which make water 
injurious are usually germs which get into the 
water not from the soil but from outside sources. 
The best and most popular table waters contain 
many mineral salts as can be seen by examining 
the analysis which is given of these waters. For 
the ordinary person good spring and well water 
is wholesome if it is protected from outside con¬ 
tamination. The water supplied to most of our 
cities is just as healthy as distilled water or as 
most of the advertised table waters. If, however, a 
person is suffering from poisons in the system which 
need to be removed, then pure distilled water is 
better than any other as it has a greater capacity 
for dissolving these poisons. Rain water gathered 
from the roof may also be used, but it should first 
be filtered so as to remove the impurities which 
it has absorbed from the dust collected on the 
roof. 

In order to maintain good health it is very 
important that one should take an abundance of 
water. Some people have a prejudice against water 
and deliberately drink as little as possible. This 
is a great mistake as the water is needed to carry 
on the process of digestion and especially to assist 


[ 42 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


in eliminating the waste products of the body. 
The kidneys and skin cannot perform their func¬ 
tions properly and the blood cannot be renewed 
without an abundance of water. Many cases of 
rheumatic pains, neuralgia, and neuritis can be 
cured by drinking six or eight glasses of water each 
day, a very cheap and simple method. The sys¬ 
tem is poisoned with uric acid and other products 
of the waste tissues and food, and the natural way 
of removing these is to stimulate the action of the 
kidneys by drinking more water. 

Many people object to drinking during the meal, 
but with most persons this means that they neglect 
to drink during the rest of the day and they suffer 
for the want of sufficient water. One or two glasses 
of water can be taken at each meal without harm 
but with real benefit to digestion, provided it is 
not used to wash down the food and also that the 
water is not too cold so as to chill the stomach and 
retard the process of digestion. The habit of using 
ice water is injurious and unnecessary. If the 
drinking water is too warm so that it tastes insipid 
add a small amount of ice in the pitcher, not in 
the glass, just enough to take away the sloppy 
taste but not enough to make it ice cold. After a 
week’s experience you will like water thus pre¬ 
pared better than the ice water. 


Milk 

The first place in the list of nourishing foods 
should be given to milk. It is almost the exclusive 


[ 43 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


diet of the child for the first two years of its life 
and it has a large place in the diet of adults. The 
mother’s milk contains the three essential elements 
of protein, sugar and fat in the proper proportions 
for a perfect food for the young child. Cow’s milk 
is a little richer in fats and sugar, and for this 
reason when it is used for infants it should be 
diluted with a little water but this is not necessary 
when used for older children and adults. It is not 
hearty enough for the exclusive diet of adults, but 
when used with other foods in cooking and when 
used as a part of a general mixed diet it is very 
valuable, and is almost an essential in the diet of 
invalids. Milk is also well supplied with mineral 
salts and vitamins and for this reason it is of special 
value as it will supply any deficiency which may 
exist in these necessary elements. There are, how¬ 
ever, some people who find milk does not agree 
with them. We should recommend such to try some 
modified form of milk, like buttermilk, kumiss, 
matzoon, sour milk, or a mixture made by adding 
one or two teaspoonfuls of malted milk to a glass 
of fresh milk. Invalids can often takes these when 
raw milk does not agree with them. 

Eggs 

Eggs are among the most wholesome and valu¬ 
able of all the food products. Their use has largely 
increased during the past few years as people have 
learned better methods of feeding and caring for 
the hens and of preserving the eggs so as to make 


[ 44 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


it possible to have a full supply during the entire 
year. Eggs are composed almost entirely of pro¬ 
tein in the form of albumen and of fat. Many 
claim that there is no form of fat which is so easily 
absorbed into the system as that from the yolk of 
an egg. To get its full benefit the egg should be 
cooked so that the yolk remains fluid, as is the case 
with an egg boiled for three minutes. It is held by 
many physicians that fats of any kind that are 
cooked are not absorbed into the system, but pass 
through the body undigested. Whether this theory 
is true or not, all physicians agree that raw eggs 
are more easily digested than those that are hard 
boiled. 

Butter 

Next to the yolk of an egg, butter is the most 
easily digested and assimilated form of fat that we 
have, and it well deserves the prominent place it 
has in our diet. It is, however, much more whole¬ 
some and digestible when spread upon bread or 
other food cold than when it is cooked into the 
food. In the case of a diet for invalids pure butter 
should be used rather than any of the various 
substitutes. 

Cheese 

Cheese is composed almost entirely of protein in 
the form of casein, and of fat. It is richer in pro¬ 
tein than any other food and for this reason it 
should be used sparingly and in connection with 
other food which will furnish starch. The recogni- 


[ 45 ] 





GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


tion of this fact explains why cheese is usually 
served with biscuits. Invalids should usually ab¬ 
stain from cheese as it is a very hearty food and 
hard to digest. What is known as cottage or cream 
cheese t which is made by heating sour milk and 
separating the curd from the whey, is more easily 
digested and often can be eaten by those who can¬ 
not eat the regular form of cheese. Cottage cheese 
deserves a much larger place than it now has among 
our list of foods. 


Sugar 

As we have already stated in the chapter on 
Digestion, sugar is closely allied to starch in its 
composition and performs the same functions in 
the body. Both starch and sugar are converted 
into glucose, which is a form of sugar like grape 
sugar, before it is absorbed into the circulation 
where it furnishes heat and energy for the body. 
Sugar differs from starch in that it is more quickly 
dissolved and taken into the system and is, there¬ 
fore, a more stimulating food. It furnishes fuel for 
the body in the form of shavings and kindling wood 
which rapidly flashes up and burns out, whereas 
starch is like coal or wood which furnishes the 
steady, substantial heat. Sugar is a valuable food 
when used in moderate quantities, but it should not 
be used in large quantities or as a substitute for 
starchy foods. Our digestive organs are planned to 
digest starch, and they will not retain their healthy 
condition if we keep them idle. 


[ 46 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


The American nation are the greatest sugar 
eaters of the world. The statistics for 1922 show 
that the consumption of sugar in America for that 
year was 5,092,758 tons. This is an increase over 
1921 of almost 24% and is equal to over 100 pounds 
for each person as compared with 30 pounds for 
England, 28 pounds for France, and 16 pounds for 
Germany. 

A very large amount of sugar is consumed in the 
form of candy, and there is evidence that the candy 
habit is rapidly growing in this country. Govern¬ 
ment statistics show that in the seven years be¬ 
tween 1914 and 1921 the money spent for candy in 
this country increased from $153,686,000 to $313,- 
989,000 or 104%. During the same period the 
value of ice-cream, another sweet product, in¬ 
creased from $55,983,000 to $213,262,000, or 281%. 
This does not include the home production, but 
only that reported by dealers. Candy contains rich 
fats, chocolate and flavoring extracts mixed with 
the sugar, which renders it more harmful than the 
eating of the same amount of pure sugar. 

During recent years chocolate has come into ex¬ 
tensive use in the manufacture of candy and 
desserts. If one may judge by the candies on dis¬ 
play in candy stores, more than one-half of the 
sales are now of chocolate candy, while the amount 
used in soda fountains and in pastry and desserts 
is very large. The chocolate is probably no more 
harmful than the sugar which goes with it. Its 
chief harm is that it cultivates a taste for sweets 
and greatly stimulates the use of candies and des- 


[ 47 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


:uiM 

serts which are a source of disease rather than of 
health. Nearly all these sweets are either taken 
between meals when they interfere with digestion 
or at the end of a meal already sufficient in quan¬ 
tity, when they lead directly to overeating with all 
its attendant evils. Much of it is also eaten by 
growing children who need in its place nourishing 
and wholesome food. 

One of the most fruitful sources of the lack of 
appetite, impaired digestion and broken health 
from which so many Americans suffer, especially 
American women, is the overindulgence in sweets 
between meals and at the end of a hearty meal. 
With many it constitutes the whole meal and so 
takes the place of wholesome and normal food. It 
is a great pity that an article of food of such real 
value as sugar and which has in it so many possi¬ 
bilities of health as well as of pleasure to the taste 
should through overindulgence and abuse be made 
a source of sickness, misery, and premature death. 
Physicians tell us that diabetes is increasing rap¬ 
idly in this country, due almost entirely to the 
excessive use of sugar and sweets. 

Bread 

Among the foods made from grain, wheat bread 
easily holds the first place. It is composed chiefly 
of starch and of protein in the form of gluten and 
these are combined in almost the ideal proportion 
for a perfect food. It contains very little fat but 
this is made up by the butter that we naturally eat 


[ 48 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


with our bread. Bread and butter is, therefore, 
almost a perfect food, and this alone could sustain 
life for a long time. In this case, however, our 
bread must be made of whole wheat flour, for there 
is in the bran of the wheat lime, iron, mineral salts, 
and vitamin, all of which are essential to preserve 
the continued health of the body. 

It is very gratifying to see that the use of 
whole wheat bread is rapidly extending in this 
country, for while whole wheat is not absolutely 
essential with a mixed diet where the vitamin and 
mineral salts may come from the other food, yet it 
is very desirable, especially with growing children 
who need a large amount of these salts to give 
them good teeth and strong bones. Many dentists 
have told me that half their work would be un¬ 
necessary if people used whole wheat or Graham 
flour in place of fine flour. 

Wheat bread is usually prepared in the form of 
bread or rolls made light with yeast. Some prefer 
that the bread should be one day old, but with a 
person in good health it makes little difference. In 
England very little bread is eaten that is not at 
least one day old. Wheat flour is also used with 
baking powder in making “soda, biscuits,” Graham 
gems and muffins. Great care is needed in seeing 
that these biscuits are well cooked, and when prop¬ 
erly prepared they are wholesome food for those in 

good health. , 

In preparing food for invalids or for those with 

imperfect digestion it is well to use toast rather 
than bread or rolls. The reason for this is that the 


[ 49 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


extra heat of toasting converts a portion of the 
starch into dextrine which is more easily digested 
than the starch that has been cooked in the ordi¬ 
nary way. The best form of toast is the “toast 
Melba” made by cutting the slices of bread about 
one eighth of an inch thick and then making them 
brown and crisp in an oven or toaster. 

Another valuable wheat product is gluten bread, 
which is made out of flour from which a portion of 
the starch has been removed. This is now kept by 
prominent dealers in most of our cities. If one 
wishes to avoid starchy food, or to substitute vege¬ 
table protein for meat, this will be found very valu¬ 
able, as well as pleasing to the taste. 

Rye, barley and corn are very similar to wheat 
in their composition and can be used in combina¬ 
tion with wheat flour or as a substitute for it, and 
so give variety to our diet. Com contains more 
fats than the other grains and so is adapted to the 
colder weather and to persons who lead an active 
out-of-door life. 


Cereals 

The use of cereals for food has increased greatly 
in this country during the last thirty years, and 
they now fill a very important place as a breakfast 
food and in the diet of children. The chief ingre¬ 
dient of all cereals is starch, but most of them also 
contain a fair admixture of protein. The best kind 
from the standpoint of health are those which are 
made from the entire kernel of grain, rather than 


[ 50 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


those which are more refined. Cereals should be 
eaten very slowly so as to mix them thoroughly 
with saliva to help digest the starch. When eaten 
with milk or cream a cereal may constitute the 
entire meal though it is usually better to combine 
it with an egg or other form of protein, and with 
bread and butter. If sugar is added to the cereal 
use it sparingly. In view of the fact that most 
people are inclined to eat too much sugar, it is a 
good place to omit it entirely. 

Potatoes 

The potato is one of the most important and one 
of the cheapest articles of food in this country. It 
is composed largely of starch with rather less pro¬ 
tein than the cereals, and for this reason is not 
suitable for an exclusive diet, but in a mixed diet 
with other foods it is very valuable. The most 
wholesome method of preparation, especially for 
invalids, is baked, boiled, or mashed, but persons in 
vigorous health can have the potato prepared saute, 
hashed brown or in other forms to suit the taste. 
Sweet potatoes are rather richer than the white 
potatoes, but are much like them in their general 
analysis and in their food value. They are mos 
wholesome when baked or plain boiled, rather than 
candied or treated in syrup. 

Rice 

Rice is the chief article of food in most oriental 
countries, though it is not used in large quantities 


[ 51 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


in America. It is composed of starch and protein 
in very nearly the same proportion as wheat, and is 
equally as wholesome, but is not so conveniently 
made into bread. In the form of boiled rice it 
makes an excellent cereal or it can be made into a 
pudding for dessert or used as a dinner dish in the 
place of potatoes. Curry and rice is also a popular 
dish with many people. Much of the nutritive 
value of rice is in its outer covering which is largely 
removed in making polished rice. It is better, 
therefore, to buy the unpolished rice which is a 
little darker in color but is equally as palatable and 
much more wholesome. In oriental countries nearly 
all the rice is used unpolished. 

Vegetables 

Most of the vegetables are low in protein, starch 
and fats, but are rich in mineral salts and vita¬ 
mins which are important to the system. They 
are also valuable in that they furnish a fibrous 
element which assists the digestive action of the 
intestines and helps to keep the bowels regular, thus 
preventing constipation. The most important of 
the vegetables are cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, cel¬ 
ery, spinach, tomatoes, squash, string beans, beets, 
turnips, green peas, lima beans, and sweet corn. 
Cabbage in the form of cold slaw is more easily di¬ 
gested than when boiled, especially if boiled with 
corned beef. Spinach is often prescribed for in¬ 
valids because of its favorable action on the bowels 
and also because of its tonic effect from the trace of 


[ 52 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


iron it contains. String beans ought to have a 
larger place in our diet than they now enjoy. There 
are varieties of string beans that are stringless, 
fleshy, nutritious and delicious, but most of our 
market gardeners have not yet learned to grow 
them. 

Peas, lima beans, and sweet corn are much richer 
in starch and protein than the watery vegetables. 
Peas and beans are the richest in protein of any 
vegetable foods, containing about 23%. They are 
more likely to cause flatulence than most foods and 
for that reason they do not agree with some people. 

Macaroni and spaghetti are excellent foods that 
might well have a larger use in this country. They 
are manufactured from a hard variety of wheat 
which contains more gluten and less starch than 
the average wheat, and this makes them very rich 
in protein. Persons who are trying to reduce their 
weight and so take but little starch may well use 
macaroni. 


Fruit 

There are more than thirty varieties of fruit that 
are sold in our markets and these fill a very large 
and important place in the diet of the nation. 
Fruits are low in food value as they are composed 
chiefly of water and cellulose. Most fruits contain 
no protein, but they contain hydrocarbons in the 
form of sugar or one of the fruit acids. They also 
contain mineral salts and vitamin which are very 
valuable to the system. From 60% to 85% of 


[ 53 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


most kinds of fruits is composed of water and cellu¬ 
lose tissue, both of value in the process of digestion 
though they possess no food value. 

The most abundant of the fruits in this country 
and the most valuable is the apple. It agrees with 
nearly every healthy person and can be eaten raw 
or it can be cooked as baked apple or apple-sauce. 
Closely allied to the apple is the pear, but not quite 
so easy to digest. Peaches, plums, and apricots also 
are valuable additions to the variety of the table. 
The prune has a place all its own in diet. It is not 
an acid fruit, and so is often prescribed by physi¬ 
cians for invalids and for those who cannot eat acid 
fruits. It should be prepared without sugar, as the 
natural fruit contains all the sweetening needed. 

The small fruits include strawberries, raspber¬ 
ries, blackberries, huckleberries, gooseberries, cher¬ 
ries, and currants. Strawberries, which are usually 
considered the queen of the small fruits, are more 
likely to disagree with invalids than either of the 
others. There are also many people in good health 
who cannot eat strawberries and all such should let 
them alone. In fact, if any form of fruit does not 
agree with a person it is much easier not to eat it 
than to suffer from the evil it may cause. In many 
forms of sickness the physician forbids the use of 
all acid fruits, and this would include strawberries, 
cherries, and currants. 

The citron fruits, consisting of oranges, grape¬ 
fruit, lemons and limes all belong in the class of 
acid fruits, and so do not agree with some persons, 
but they can be eaten in moderate quantities by 


[ 54 ] 





ARTICLES OF FOOD 


most persons in good health. The lemon and lime, 
which to the taste are the most sour of the acid 
fruits, are really in a class by themselves and they 
can be used by those who cannot eat grapefruit or 
oranges. They are often recommended in the place 
of vinegar for making salad dressing. No fruit 
should be eaten in immoderate quantities, and 
especially no acid fruit; for while our digestive 
organs are fitted to take care of both sour fruits 
and sweet fruits, an excess of either may interfere 
with digestion and so cause serious trouble. 

The pineapple is an acid fruit and, like other 
acid fruits, it cannot be eaten by everyone. The 
same general remarks apply to it as to oranges and 
grapefruit. 

Another important addition to our fruit supply is 
the cantaloupe and watermelon. These rank as 
non-acid fruits and can often be eaten by those who 
cannot eat acid fruits. Within the last few years 
two new and delicious forms of melon are being 
grown under the names of honey-dew and cassaba. 
These are much like the delicious Spanish melon 
which is served in Spain and France and have the 
general qualities of the cantaloupe. 

The banana, like the melon, is a non-acid fruit 
and can be eaten by almost every one. It has more 
food value than most other fruits and contains 
quite a percentage of starch. In countries where 
bananas grow certain kinds are dried by the natives 
and made into a flour that can be used in cooking. 
Many native tribes of Africa largely subsist on the 
food prepared from the plantain or banana plant. 


[ 55 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


The banana should be eaten when it is just ripe— 
neither green nor overripe. The outside is usually 
dark in spots when the banana is perfect. 

Grapes also have considerable food value, mostly 
in the form of grape sugar contained in the juice of 
the grapes. They are wholesome food for most 
people, though some of the richest and choicest 
varieties are likely to disturb digestion if indulged 
in too freely. 


Nuts 

Many kind of nuts have a high food value though 
they are usually treated as an extra rather than as 
an essential part of the diet. Most nuts are rich 
in fats and this gives them their chief value. One 
hundred calories of food are contained in ten large 
almonds, ten peanuts, three brazil-nuts, four Eng¬ 
lish walnuts, five pecan nuts, and in one-half ounce 
of prepared cocoanut. These nuts might well find 
a larger place in our list of foods, though they 
should be a part of the meal and not added on to a 
meal which is already more than sufficient. 

Condiments and Sauces 

It would be better for our digestion and better 
for our general health if all condiments and stimu¬ 
lating sauces were banished from our tables. An 
appetite which needs coaxing with pepper, horse 
radish, catsup, or other stimulating sauces, had 
better be allowed to rest and recover its natural 


[ 56 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


craving. The use of all condiments tends to over¬ 
eating and their presence in our system interferes 
with the regular and proper digestion of our food. 
Hunger is the best sauce and plain food is by far 
the best nourishment for the body. Salt, which is 
sometimes included among condiments, is a natural 
constituent of all food and it may be used in mod¬ 
eration in seasoning the food, but if used too freely 
it interferes with the process of digestion and 
tempts to overeating. 


Meat 

From the earliest history of the human race meat 
has formed an important part of its food. The only 
important nation at the present time where the 
people do not eat meat is India, and even here the 
Mahometan part of the population numbering 
about sixty millions are meat eaters. People in 
the colder countries usually consume more meat 
than those living in hot countries. So also a rich 
and prosperous people eat more meat than those 
who live in a country where the people are poor 
for the reason that meats are more expensive than 
cereals and vegetables. 

The fact that many persons in our country are 
vegetarians and eat no meat and that some nations 
are almost entirely vegetarian proves beyond ques¬ 
tion that people can live without meat and main¬ 
tain fairly good health. The question is, do they 
enjoy as good health as those who use a mixed 
diet? Are their bodies as well nourished and as 


[ 57 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


well developed? Can they do as much work? 
These are questions on which all do not agree, but 
the weight of opinion, as well as of experience is in 
favor of a mixed diet of meat and vegetables. 

Animal food is derived from three sources: warm 
blooded animals such as the cow, the sheep, and the 
hog; the feathered tribe, including chickens, tur¬ 
keys, ducks, geese, guinea hens and various game 
birds; and fishes of many varieties, including oys¬ 
ters and clams, lobsters and turtles. These are all 
much alike in their food value. The chief elements 
which they supply to the system are fats and pro¬ 
tein, while the starch and sugar are supplied almost 
entirely from the vegetable food. The fats, except 
olive oil, formerly came almost entirely from ani¬ 
mals in the form of butter and lard, but now there 
are a large variety of vegetable fats that are used 
as food. These include cotton seed oil, cocoanut oil 
and corn oil, which are made into substitutes for 
butter and are used in cooking in the place of lard. 

Protein is also contained in many cereals as well 
as in meat, especially in wheat, rye, corn and rice, 
but vegetable protein is not so easily dissolved as 
that from meat and a larger proportion is lost in 
the process of digestion. The presence of animal 
protein also assists in the digestion of the vegetable 
protein, so that the digestion is more perfect with 
a mixed diet than with a diet wholly of vegetables. 
It is desirable, therefore, that from one third to 
one half of the protein which we take should come 
from animal food. 

While it is true that a mixed diet is better for 


[ 58 ] 







ARTICLES OF FOOD 


most people than one of vegetables only, it is the 
belief of most physicians and scientists that we as 
a nation eat altogether too much meat. In the 
early history of our country meat was very abun¬ 
dant and cheap and the active labor of clearing the 
forests and tilling the soil made a demand for a 
hearty diet. We have thus inherited the habit of 
eating an amount of meat that is no longer adapted 
to our present needs and conditions. The ordinary 
table d’hote dinner contains twice as much animal 
food as can be properly digested and assimilated 
and the excess is not only wasted but it is a posi¬ 
tive poison to the system. 

The overeating of meat is one of the most fruit¬ 
ful sources of disease connected with our diet, and 
where the custom is to serve meat three times a day 
it is very difficult to correct it. A very good plan 
is to cut out meat entirely from at least one meal 
each day. It is very easy to omit meat from the 
breakfast, using in its place fruit and a cereal with 
milk or cream. This is the regular breakfast on 
the continent of Europe and it would be better for 
our health if it were generally adopted in America. 

In the selection of meats for our table, beef and 
mutton should have the first place. The most 
healthful method of cooking is by roasting or broil- 
ingr^They should be cooked with a quick fire so 
that the meat may not absorb too much of the fat, 
for cooked fat is hard to digest. It is also more 
healthful to prepare the meat without gravy, except 
the natural juices of the meat, rather than to serve 
it with rich, stimulating sauces. 


[ 59 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


Pork is rather harder to digest than beef and 
mutton, but there is no reason why it should not be 
used by persons with good digestion. Ham and 
bacon are better broiled than fried, and the slices 
should be cut thin so that it may be crisp and not 
soggy with fat. 

Chicken and turkey with their white meat are 
not quite so hearty as geese and ducks and, there¬ 
fore, are preferable for invalids. The same remarks 
made about the cooking of beef applies also to 
fowls. They should not be saturated with grease. 
The simpler methods of cooking are more healthy 
and more tasty to a normal appetite than to have 
the natural flavor ruined with rich gravies and 
dressings. 

Of fish there is a great variety to choose from, 
nearly all of them delicious and wholesome. The 
salmon is a little richer than most other fish, and 
for this reason may not agree with invalids. Fish, 
like meat, is better broiled or baked than fried, 
and its healthfulness is not improved by saturating 
it in fat or covering it with rich sauces. Oysters 
and clams may be eaten raw or made into an oyster 
stew or clam chowder. If oysters are eaten raw 
one should be sure they are not raised in water 
contaminated with the sewage of some neighboring 
city. 

In using meats of any kind care should be taken 
that they are fresh, as there is great danger if they 
are kept too long that they will become unwhole¬ 
some and unfit for food. If properly kept in cold 
storage meat will keep in perfect condition for a 


[ 60 ] 






ARTICLES OF FOOD 


considerable time, but we take the risk of the skill 
with which the cold storage is handled. When on 
shipboard I have eaten not only meats but deli¬ 
cious cantaloupe and other fruits which had been 
kept for six weeks and were in perfect condition, 
but, unfortunately, ptomaine poisoning sometimes, 
though rarely, occurs from the use of meats kept 
too long in storage. It more frequently occurs from 
meats kept over in the household without ice, or in 
a poor refrigerator than when kept in regular cold 
storage. 


Tea, Coffee and Chocolate 

Tea and coffee are almost universally used as a 
table beverage in every civilized country. The 
active principle of each is caffein, which is a mod¬ 
erate nerve and heart stimulant. Contrary to what 
the name suggests, the caffein of commerce, which 
is used as a medicine^ is usually made from tea and 
not from coffee. The reason for this is that the tea 
leaves contain a larger percent of caffein than the 
berry of the coffee, and it is more economically 
extracted. 

Tea and coffee are probably the mildest of the 
various beverages used as stimulating drinks, and 
when used in moderation they are not especially 
harmful to those of adult age who are in good 
health and who lead an active life. Please note the 
qualifications: adults, good health, active life. 
They are stimulants and contain no nourishment, 
and for these reasons they should not be fed to 


[ 61 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


children as it interferes with their growth and 
proper development and weakens, their nervous 
system. The harm that is done by ignorant and 
foolish parents in giving regularly to their children 
tea and coffee or any other form of stimulant is 
beyond computation. The child needs nourishing 
food on which it can develop bone and muscle, and 
not stimulants, and in place of tea or coffee it 
should have water or milk. 

The same reasons that make tea and coffee in¬ 
jurious to children also make them injurious to 
many people in poor health, especially those with 
weak or deranged nervous systems. And yet, many 
times these are the very ones who are most depen¬ 
dent on their tea and coffee. They say they need 
this stimulant to “set them up,” to give them an 
appetite for their food, or to cure them of the head¬ 
ache which comes in the afternoon. This may be an 
argument why tea or coffee should be used as an 
occasional medicine to relieve headache or exhaus¬ 
tion, but one should use medicine only for special 
occasions and not make of it a daily food as its 
curative effect is lost with constant use and it 
becomes not a remedy but a source of injury. 

The same general principle also applies to those 
who lead a sedentary life and take but little exer¬ 
cise and go out of doors but little. Such persons 
need to be much more careful in all their diet than 
those who are active and live much out of doors. 
Many professional men and scholars undermine 
their health and injure their usefulness by the ex¬ 
cessive use of tea, coffee, and other stimulants. 


[ 62 ] 







ARTICLES OF FOOD 


Chocolate, or cocoa, which is chocolate with a 
portion of the fat removed, is a milder stimulant 
than tea or coffee, but is somewhat similar in its 
action. It is, therefore, frequently used by those 
who are forbidden the use of tea and coffee or who 
think they are injured by them. A better and more 
wholesome substitute would be milk or some form 
of cereal coffee. Several breakfast drinks are now- 
made from prepared cereal and these contain no 
stimulant, are entirely wholesome, are agreeable to 
the taste, and contain considerable nourishment, 
especially if trimmed with sugar and cream. If 
any warm drinks are given to children, it is much 
better to use milk or cereal coffee than to use even 
weak tea or coffee. 


[ 63 ] 







TOBACCO 



I 




VI 


TOBACCO 

T OBACCO can hardly be classed as a food, 
but it fills so large a place in the lives of 
men and women and is so closely related 
to their health and happiness that it cannot 
properly be passed over in silence. I know I am 
treading on dangerous ground when I venture to 
treat of so confirmed and universal a habit as the 
use of tobacco, but as a physician writing on Health 
and Long Life I must state the well accepted facts 
about its physical effects. 

The essential element in tobacco is nicotine, 
which is an active poison. Its effect on a person 
not accustomed to its use is to lessen the action of 
the heart, to impair both physical and mental 
activity, and not infrequently to cause nausea. 
These extreme symptoms are not recognized by the 
habitual user for the reason that nature very kindly 
provides that when a poison is present in the system 
all the vital forces shall unite to expel it from the 
body. This is true not only of tobacco but of 
opium, arsenic, or any other kind of poison. The 
vital forces which are needed to combat and elimi¬ 
nate this poison are drawn from the strength and 
energy of the individual, and to that extent his 
health and efficiency are impaired and his reserve 
vitality exhausted. I am aware that users of 


[ 67 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


tobacco have frequently lived to be eighty or even 
ninety years of age, but that does not prove its 
healthfulness. Very many persons have a vitality 
that ought to carry them to the age of one hundred 
or even more. With this vitality and with habits 
that are otherwise healthful one may be able to 
meet this drain and yet attain to what is compara¬ 
tively old age. Of course, one who uses tobacco 
moderately is less injured joy it than one who uses 
a large amount, but what is moderation in the use 
of a poison, and what assurance does one have that 
he will be among the moderate users? Probably no 
person ever began the use of tobacco without the 
resolve to use it only in moderation, but what is 
the poor human will against the demands of a dis¬ 
eased and pampered appetite! Not one person in 
ten who has used tobacco ten years remains a mod¬ 
erate user, even judged by the standards of tobacco 
users themselves. Can the young man, or can the 
young woman—for, alas, the appeal must now be 
made to both sexes—can they afford to take the 
chances of ruined health and greatly shortened lives 
just for the social companionship and the benumbed 
nerves that come from the use of a drug which they 
know to be poisonous and capable of causing all 
these evils? 

Before the late World War there had grown up a 
considerable anti-tobacco sentiment in this country 
and there was ground for hope that the habit might 
be greatly curbed and much of its evils removed. 
But with the entrance of America into the war 
there was a sudden opening of the flood-gates of 


[ 68 ] 





TOBACCO 


tobacco propaganda. Every young man who en¬ 
listed was provided with cigarettes and every influ¬ 
ence thrown around him to take up the use of 
tobacco, even if he had not used it before. Every 
organization for helping the soldiers, the Red Cross, 
the Y. M. C. A., the K. of C., and the Salvation 
Army vied with each other in supplying the soldiers 
with tobacco. The result of this propaganda has 
been a large increase in the use of tobacco in this 
country since the war, especially in cigarette smok¬ 
ing. This is strikingly shown by the following 
statistics taken from the report of the Chamber of 
Commerce of the State of New York: 


In 1915 cigarettes produced in America were 7,053,095,563 

In 1918 this had increased to . 37,914,241,654 

In 1920, after the close of the war . 44,645,823,212 

In 1921, two years after the close . 50,888,378,448 


Later statistics show that during the fiscal year 
ending July 1st, 1923, taxes were paid on 60,878,- 
295,907 cigarettes, showing an increase over the 
previous year of 20% and an increase since 1915 
of over 800%. It is doubtful whether history can 
show another case of such astonishing results from 
the free advertising of any product! Fortunately 
the same rate of increase has not extended to 
other forms of tobacco, but the cigarette is usually 
the introductory form. The increase in cigars and 
smoking tobacco will appear later as the young 
men and young women grow up. On the moderate 
assumption that the young man who learns to 
smoke cuts ten years from his length of life, what 


[ 69 ] 









GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


will be the loss of life to those who learned to use 
tobacco in the army as compared with the loss of 
those killed in battle or from the diseases of the 
camp? 

The personal experience of one man is of little 
value in proving the advantage or disadvantage of 
the use of tobacco, but it may be of value as an 
illustration. Ten years ago the writer was sud¬ 
denly taken with appendicitis while visiting in 
Cairo, Egypt. Fortunately an English surgeon was 
found who was at the head of a private hospital 
supplied with English nurses. In two hours he was 
in the hospital, ready for the operation if it was 
deemed safe in the case of one nearly seventy-two 
years old. The first thing was to examine the heart 
which was found to be sound. The next was to 
inquire what his habits had been, especially as to 
the use of intoxicating liquor and tobacco. When 
the surgeon found that his patient had never used 
either of these drugs he decided it was entirely safe 
to operate. In two weeks the wound was healed, 
and he left the hospital a well man. If there had 
been anything of importance that he had lost dur¬ 
ing the previous years of his life because of not 
using intoxicating liquor or tobacco—which there 
was not—it was more than made up in the security 
and safety of that one hour while he was on the 
operating table under the knife of the surgeon. 
Why can we not look at life with a true perspec¬ 
tive and so choose the blessing of health, comfort, 
and happiness that can be secured at the cost of a 
slight amount of self-denial rather than the evils 


[ 70 ] 








TOBACCO 


of sickness, distress, and misery that follow 
thoughtless self-indulgence? 

About fifty years ago the discovery was made 
that many diseases are communicated by germs 
carried by flies and mosquitoes, or which enter the 
body by direct contact through a wound or sore. 
The result is that we take the utmost care to 
screen our houses and to protect any wound with 
antiseptics in order to escape contagion. Our 
sources of water supply are carefully inspected, and 
in many cases we boil our drinking water before 
using it. All this is to protect our lives and health 
and in so doing we act wisely. By what process of 
reasoning do these same people take into their 
systems a drug which they know to be poisonous 
and which is certain to impair their health, to 
render them more susceptible to disease, and to 
shorten their lives? 

Twenty-five years ago the women of this coun¬ 
try and of the world distorted their figures and 
cramped their lungs and digestive organs by a style 
of dress which violated the fundamental laws of 
health and beauty. Scientists, physicians and 
reformers had protested against it for a century 
and, apparently, without effect until a few years 
ago the tight waist suddenly disappeared and the 
normal body took its place. Perhaps you will say 
it was fashion that brought about the change, but 
how came fashion to do it? Was it not an aroused 
popular demand which at last became so strong that 
it made its power felt even by the designers of 
women’s fashions? Is it too much to hope that 


[ 71 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


sooner or later reason will assert itself in the use of 
so harmful and unnecessary a drug as tobacco, and 
that fashion will again come to the aid of an en¬ 
lightened public sentiment which will first greatly 
curtail and finally abolish the use of tobacco? It 
will not be next year, nor ten years hence, but fifty 
years is a long period in this rapidly moving age 
and we predict that fifty years will see a great 
change in our present tobacco habits. 


[ 72 ] 







EXERCISE 










VII 


EXERCISE 

G OOD HEALTH is almost as dependent on 
exercise as upon suitable food, for good 
digestion and good health cannot be main¬ 
tained without an abundance of exercise. 
The injunction, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread,” is often quoted as though labor was a 
punishment to mankind, but it is rather the state¬ 
ment of a fundamental principle needed alike to 
provide our food and to maintain properly our 
health and strength. 

In the early days labor was so distributed among 
the entire population that there was little need to 
provide special or unproductive exercise. Almost 
every article used in the family, whether of food or 
clothing, was produced complete by the members of 
the household. The wool was clipped from the 
sheep, carded, spun, woven and made into gar¬ 
ments ready for use. The food was raised from the 
seed, harvested and prepared for the table. Even 
much of the furniture and utensils for the household 
were of home manufacture. With such a civiliza¬ 
tion there was little need for extra exercise. 

But to-day all this is changed. Much of our 
food is brought into the house ready for the table 
and the rest is quickly prepared with the gas range 
or electric cooker. The clothing is bought ready 
made, the washing is done with an electric washer, 


[ 75 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


the ironing with a mangle, and the sweeping with a 
vacuum cleaner. Very much of the work in the 
great factories where all these articles are manu¬ 
factured is done with automatic machinery so that 
the duty of the so-called workman is simply to 
watch the machines do the work. 

With this state of affairs there is a very large 
number of men and a still larger number of women 
among the so-called laboring classes who do not 
get proper exercise in their regular work. Add to 
this the clerks, bookkeepers, business and profes¬ 
sional men and the students in our schools and col¬ 
leges and at least one-half of our entire population 
must seek some exercise outside their regular work 
in order to maintain their health and vigor of body 
and mind. 

This need is in part met by the greater attention 
given to athletics during the past forty years. The 
student class is fairly well provided for, and the 
Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., and other similar 
organizations are doing much for the young people 
of our cities, but there is still a vast number that 
has not been reached. Besides this there are the 
men and women of middle life who have never 
learned to exercise but whose work is enervating 
rather than of a nature to build up the body. 
What can be done to meet the needs of this great 
multitude? It is easy to say, “fix up a little gym¬ 
nasium at home and get some dumb-bells, or 
practice calisthenics,” and it is easy to get the 
apparatus, but it will not be used by the great 
masses. There must in some way be team work; 


[761 





EXERCISE 


neighbors and friends must get together for games 
and sports where there will be an interest in what 
they are doing. Tennis is an excellent exercise for 
those who are under fifty, but after that it is too 
vigorous. Long walks into the country for picnick¬ 
ing, hikes on bicycles, or rowing on the lakes and 
rivers are all excellent. Some compromise their 
exercise by going off a few miles in a motor car and 
getting out for a picnic lunch but it is better to 
leave the motor car at home. 

The one game alike excellent for young and old 
is golf. It can be made as hard or as easy as one 
likes, and there is sufficient variety and uncertainty 
in the individual strokes so that the interest never 
tires. The great trouble with golf is that it is 
expensive, both in time and money. The courses 
are often an hour’s distance from one’s home, and 
it costs a large amount to keep the grounds in 
order. In Scotland, the home of golf, there are 
many courses that are free or that charge only a 
nominal fee of a few pennies for each game, and 
here nearly all enjoy the benefit of the game. A 
few of our cities have such courses here, but where 
there is one there ought to be fifty. It is to be 
hoped that this may soon be the case, for it would 
add much to the health and vigor of our men and 
women. There is a tendency to make our golf 
courses too fine and elaborate. Good exercise and 
good sport can be obtained on courses that are not 
so expensively fitted up and maintained, and on 
such courses many could play that are now shut out 
by the high cost. 


[ 77 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


Walking is an excellent exercise, especially vigor¬ 
ous walking with long strides which stirs up the 
digestive organs, but it needs to be something more 
than merely walking for the sake of walking. If 
one walks two or three miles each day to one’s place 
of business, or if one has some definite task which 
calls for walking, like going to the post office or 
calling on a friend, it may accomplish the purpose 
of exercise, but walking without a purpose soon 
becomes tiresome and is abandoned. 

The very general use of the automobile in this 
country is rapidly doing away with walking as it is 
so much quicker and easier to ride than to walk. 
It needs a constant fight on the part of one who 
wishes to keep well to avoid the pitfalls of ease and 
comfort and to secure the exercise which is indis¬ 
pensable if one would enjoy the blessings of good 
health and long life. 

There is a small class of people who are enough 
interested in their health to keep up systematic, 
exercises at their home. To such we would recom¬ 
mend what are known as “set up” exercises a series 
of motions with the arms and body to be practiced 
ten minutes once or twice each day, preferably on 
rising and retiring. Such exercises tend to keep the 
body active and limber, to give strength to the 
digestive organs, and to give tone to the entire 
system. There are several such systems of exer¬ 
cise for sale to the public. One of the first on the 
market was “The Daily Dozen” by Walter Camp. 
Most of these are planned to be used in connection 
with a phonograph, and if one has a phonograph 


[ 78 ] 





EXERCISE 


in the house it will be found of great help as it adds 
interest to what might otherwise be a dull and 
monotonous performance, so that one is more likely 
to keep it up permanently. 

A good method of working out one’s scheme of 
exercise is to consult with a physical director who 
may be located near by in connection with some 
school, Y. M. C. A., or Y. W. C. A. These physical 
directors are usually well trained in their profes¬ 
sion and they will be glad to assist not only in the 
general scheme of home exercise, but they will be 
able to give instruction as to the special form of 
exercise that will be best adapted to each individual 
case. 


[ 79 ] 


















« 




CONSTIPATION AND AUTO¬ 
INTOXICATION 








VIII 


CONSTIPATION AND AUTO-INTOXICATION 

C ONSTIPATION is chiefly a disease of 
modern civilization. Our early ancestors 
with their simple mode of life, their coarser 
food, and their greater amount of physical 
labor, knew very little about constipation of the 
bowels. Now, under modern conditions, it has 
become so common and the evils resulting from it 
are so serious and far reaching that the subject 
demands serious consideration from every one who 
seeks to preserve his health and vigor. 

Among the most frequent causes of constipation 
are neglect to attend at a regular hour each day to 
the call of nature; the use of too concentrated food, 
especially the use of bread and other cereals made 
of grain from which the outer husk has all been 
removed; the absence of coarse vegetables and 
fruits from our diet so that there is too little rough- 
age in our food; and the weak and flabby condition 
of the muscles of the abdomen caused by leading 
an inactive and sedentary life without proper exer¬ 
cise. 

Few people realize to what extent we are the 
creatures of habit. If a child is trained to attend 
to the evacuation of his bowels at a given hour 
each day, say directly after breakfast, nature soon 
adapts itself to this schedule and the desire recurs 
each day with almost perfect regularity. Many 


[ 83 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


cases of constipation have their origin in the neglect 
of this simple precaution and some days the bowels 
move and others they do not, just as it happens. 
The first thing to do to cure constipation is to make 
a faithful and persistent effort to establish this 
regularity. 

We have already spoken of the advantages of 
whole wheat bread and of cereals from which the 
outer covering of the grain has not been removed 
because of the important nutriment contained in 
the outer covering of all grains. In addition to this 
it is of great advantage in preventing constipation 
and in securing a regular and proper movement of 
the bowels. The outer shell and coarser portions of 
the grain are not readily dissolved in the process of 
digestion, but furnish bulk and “roughage” which 
seem to be needed to stimulate the digestive organs 
to proper action. An important part of the cure of 
constipation should be to use Graham or whole 
wheat bread, muffins made from a mixture of bran 
and flour, and cereals like shredded wheat and 
krumplets, which are made from the entire kernel 
of wheat or other grains. There are also excellent 
preparations of wheat bran which can be eaten 
with a little milk or can be mixed with other 
cereals. 

The use of vegetables and fruit serves the same 
purpose as the use of whole wheat bread and cere¬ 
als. The vegetables which will be found most 
valuable are spinach, cabbage, especially cold slaw, 
cauliflower, turnips, squash, string beans, celery, 
and lettuce. Several of these were much more com- 


[ 84 ] 





CONSTIPATION AND AUTO-INTOXICATION 


mon on tables sixty years ago than now, and their 
absence in part accounts for the greater prevalence 
of constipation. Almost all fruits are helpful for 
constipation unless the person is suffering from 
some trouble of digestion which is made worse by 
the use of fruits. Apples, oranges, grape-fruit, 
prunes, peaches and bananas will usually be found 
wholesome and beneficial. 

A very frequent cause of constipation is the 
weak and flabby condition of the muscles of the 
abdomen. This may be brought on by sickness, 
but is more often caused by the methods of life 
and work. Persons who sit all day working only 
with their hands, like bookkeepers, typists, sewing 
women, and women at home who spend most of 
their time at embroidery or fancy work, all those 
who do not systematically take vigorous exercise 
are almost sure to lose the normal tone and vigor 
of their body, and so become the easy victims of 
constipation. If such persons wish to regain their 
health, they must change radically their habits of 
life. Either they must change their form of labor 
and take up some work which calls for physical 
activity, preferably out of doors, or they must save 
enough time from their regular sedentary employ¬ 
ment to get each day one or two hours of active 
exercise. For particulars as to kinds of exercise see 
the Chapter on Exercise. 

But perhaps the reader has tried out the reme¬ 
dies and suggestions we have given and still does 
not obtain relief. What more can be done? One 
thing is certain, do not acquire the habit of using 


[ 85 ] 





GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


cathartic medicines. While this may give tem¬ 
porary relief, it still further weakens and irritates 
the bowels and so leaves one worse rather than 
better. There are two remedies, neither of them 
medicines, either or both of which can be used 
without injury or without establishing a habit 
which cannot be given up when the diet and exer¬ 
cise have had time to produce their full effect. The 
first is a preparation from seaweed known as Agar, 
or sometimes as Agar Agar. It is prepared by sev¬ 
eral of our leading wholesale pharmacists and can 
be obtained from almost any drug store. It is 
neither a food nor a drug, but a vegetable fiber 
much like the cellulose of fruit and vegetables 
which is not absorbed into the system nor acted 
upon except to take up moisture and to give bulk 
to the food. One can use anywhere from one to 
five teaspoonfuls a day, taken either upon retiring 
at night or it can be taken with meals as is found 
most convenient and efficacious. It can be taken 
clear, with water or milk, or it can be mixed with 
the cereal or other food as one prefers. Its action is 
purely mechanical and is much the same as wheat 
bran but it is more effective. Thousands of Ameri¬ 
cans are now using this remedy and with excellent 
results. 

The other remedy is a mineral oil manufactured 
from petroleum. Different manufacturers give it 
different names, but it is all practically alike. It is 
the same as vaseline or albolene, only it is made of 
the proper consistency to be easily swallowed. 
Like Agar, its action is entirely mechanical. It is 


[ 86 ] 





CONSTIPATION AND AUTO-INTOXICATION 


not dissolved in the digestive process nor absorbed 
into the system, but it softens and lubricates the 
faecal matter and so facilitates its passage through 
the intestines. This also can be obtained of almost 
any druggist. One should not depend upon it as a 
permanent remedy, but should use it until the tone 
of the digestive organs is so far restored that they 
are able to perform their functions without addi¬ 
tional help. 

In many instances temporary relief can best be 
obtained from the use of an enema or irrigation of 
the bowels, with a solution of one or two quarts of 
warm water to which has been added a tablespoon¬ 
ful of salt. In severe cases, especially if the colon 
is involved, it is often desirable to use a high enema 
using several quarts of water. To take the high 
enema, or irrigation of the colon, will require the 
assistance or at least the instructions of a trained 
nurse or physician. Many people find it beneficial 
to take a high enema every ten days or two weeks, 
as it thoroughly cleanses the whole rectum and 
colon and assists in healing any disease which may 
be lodged in them. 

Auto-intoxication 

When constipation lasts for a long time it is 
likely to cause a perverted action of the intes¬ 
tines by which poisons are absorbed into the system 
from the decayed food which has been too long 
retained in the bowels. We have already explained 
how the glands of the intestines absorb from the 


[ 87 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


food its nutritive qualities. With a healthy diges¬ 
tion the parts of the food not needed in the system 
pass v along through the intestines and are dis¬ 
charged from the rectum. But if retained too long 
in their passage, or if unhealthful food is taken into 
the stomach, it may develop poisons which are 
absorbed, leading sometimes to acute attacks like 
cholera morbus, or at other times to a gradual 
poisoning of the blood which affects the nerve cen¬ 
ters and leads to various forms of chronic diseases. 
This latter condition is called auto-intoxication and 
means that poisonous substances which ought to be 
eliminated from the body are absorbed into the 
blood. A better name would be auto-poison, for it 
is a direct poisoning of the system from diseased 
digestion. The most frequent cause of so-called 
nervous prostration is this absorption of poison 
from the intestines. It is also claimed by leading 
physicians that many cases of rheumatism, gout, 
neuralgia, neuritis, and even of hardened arteries 
and apoplexy are caused by the absorption into the 
blood of poisons from undigested food. If this is 
the case it will be seen that attention to the amount 
and kind of food eaten is of first importance in 
treating these diseases as well as in preventing them 
in any one suffering from constipation. All these 
troubles are greatly aggravated by constipation 
even when not directly caused by it in the first 
place. When constipation leads to any of the 
symptoms of auto-intoxication that we have de¬ 
scribed, or when it causes impairment of the general 
health, no time should be lost in consulting with a 


[ 88 ] 






CONSTIPATION AND AUTO-INTOXICATION 


competent physician and following strictly the 
treatment which he recommends. If the healthy 
and normal action of the digestive organs can be 
restored one may hope for a return to good health, 
but if not there is grave danger of permanent 
invalidism and suffering. 


[ 89 ] 
















I 




PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR 
DIET AND MENUS 






I 


IX 


PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR DIET AND 

MENUS 

I N the preceding chapters we have considered 
the composition and uses of food, the process 
of digestion, and the special qualities of various 
articles of food. All this is interesting as a 
matter of information but it will be helpful only as 
it is put into practice. It is a great deal easier to 
theorize than to practice, as each of us has learned 
in his own experience, but these theories lead no¬ 
where unless they are put into practice in our daily 
conduct. In this chapter we shall give some prac¬ 
tical suggestions to those who are willing to make 
the effort to keep well and to live to a happy and 
comfortable old age. 

It will perhaps make the subject clearer if we 
take as an example an average man leading an 
average life. He might be a professional man, a 
teacher, or a business man. His habits are rather 
active but the amount of physical work is not large. 
He is forty years old and is five feet eight inches 
tall. In accordance with the table given in the 
Chapter on Calories he should require about 2584 
calories of food each day. The first questions that 
confront us are: How many meals should he take 
each day? And how shall the food be divided 
between these meals? 


[ 93 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


Many persons take only two meals a day and 
they claim that it agrees with them perfectly. We 
do not, however, see any advantage in this over the 
more common practice of three meals a day. If 
any one wishes to cut down his food so as to reduce 
his weight, or for any other purpose, it may be a 
convenient way to drop the breakfast or luncheon, 
but the regular three meals a day has the sanction 
of time honored custom and should not be changed 
without good reason. 

The breakfast is usually the lightest of the three 
meals, and we see no reason for changing this cus¬ 
tom. The European breakfast consisting of coffee 
and rolls, or coffee, rolls, and a boiled egg, has been 
adopted by very many American families during 
the past forty years, and the general testimony is 
that it fits one for the day’s work better than the 
hearty breakfast of our ancestors! If one desires 
a more hearty meal, some form of cereal can be 
added, or bacon and eggs, or ham and eggs can 
take the place of the boiled egg. This latter would 
make a breakfast suitable for one taking active 
physical exercise, but it is rather hearty for brain 
workers or those who do not take much exercise. 

Many Americans start their breakfast with fruit. 
This is recommended by some physicians and is 
condemned by others. In such a case one must be 
guided by one’s own experience. Those with weak 
digestions will usually find that cooked fruits will 
agree with them better than raw fruits. Among 
the cooked fruits, prunes, baked apples, and apple¬ 
sauce should have the first place. Of raw fruits 


[ 94 ] 






SUGGESTIONS FOR DIET AND MENUS 


the list is large: cantaloupe, bananas, grape-fruit, 
oranges, pears, and in their season, grapes, peaches, 
and the several varieties of berries. Any of these 
fruits which do not agree with one should be 
omitted. Some persons cannot take acid fruits 
without injury. All of these fruits should be used 
with little or no sugar, as sugar ferments in the 
stomach and so adds to the acid property of the 
fruit. Many persons during the late war cut down 
their use of sugar one-half and they found that 
they enjoyed their food just as well and were in 
better health. It would be well if this practice 
could become permanent. 

The second meal of the day may be either a 
luncheon or a dinner as each family finds most 
convenient. If it is to be a hurried meal and one is 
to engage in hard work or study immediately after¬ 
wards the noonday meal should always be light; 
but if one can take plenty of time at his noonday 
meal and is not to be hurried afterwards the noon¬ 
day dinner is all right. The dinner at night has 
largely replaced the midday dinner in this country 
for the reason that with most people it seems to be 
more convenient. Those who live in cities, espe¬ 
cially, find that the family is scattered during the 
day, but at night all are brought together for the 
dinner at six or seven o’clock. 

When a hearty dinner is to be eaten at night the 
noonday lunch should be light, and the easiest way 
to make it light is not to have more than two 
courses. A soup with bread and rolls, followed by 
an omelet or other service of eggs, makes a sub- 


[ 95 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


stantial lunch. An oyster stew made with milk or 
half-cream, followed by a dessert of rice pudding 
or caramel custard also makes a wholesome and 
sufficient lunch. If one makes a lunch of three or 
four courses it makes a second dinner of the meal 
and almost surely tempts to eating more than the 
system requires. 

When the dinner is taken in the middle of the 
day the luncheon menu can be used for supper with 
such variations as may be desired. A vegetable or 
chicken salad makes a good substantial course 
around which the other courses can be grouped. 

The dinner should be the heartiest meal of the 
day, but even this can easily be overdone. During 
the late war many people adopted the rule of not 
having over three courses for dinner, and it would 
be well if this rule could be continued permanently. 
The first course of a dinner may be fruit, soup, or 
in their season, raw oysters. Some have two of 
these courses but that is unnecessary and is not a 
good preparation for the other courses which are 
to follow. After the first course of a formal dinner 
there is served fish and this is followed by an entree 
of some form of meat or egg with vegetables, and 
then a hearty roast. These are the dinners which 
make business for doctors and lay the foundation 
for future sickness and premature death. All of 
these courses are “protein” food and to partake of 
this amount of protein is to load the digestive 
organs with two or three times as much as can be 
absorbed, leaving the balance to poison the system. 
A meal of this kind may cause an attack of diar- 


[ 96 ] 






SUGGESTIONS FOR DIET AND MENUS 


rhea in which case nature disposes of it with the 
least harm. But more often it remains to block up 
the digestive system and plant the germs of Bright’s 
disease, hardened arteries, rheumatism, neuralgia, 
or auto-intoxication. Those who care more for 
their health than for their appetite will do well to 
drop out of their meals all duplicates of protein 
courses. 

After the meat course there usually follows 
pastry or dessert. Ice cream is perhaps the most 
wholesome of any, especially if not accompanied 
by rich cake, but those in good health may take 
some form of pudding or even a piece of American 
pie, though the pie is usually the least digestible 
of any form of pastry. The English pie made with 
a top crust only is more wholesome than the usual 
form of American pie. 

Those who are invalids and wish to be very par¬ 
ticular about their food will do well to drop out all 
forms of dessert and pastry, and to end their meal 
with the meat course. Usually one has then eaten 
all that the appetite craves, but the presence of a 
sweet dish tempts further to eating of food not 
needed by the system and therefore injurious. 
Many persons would be saved from the evils of 
overeating and the consequent effects if they 
would omit all desserts. No doubt it “tastes good” 
but the after effects are such that it is a poor 
bargain. 

We will now put into tabular form the sugges¬ 
tions we have made as to the three meals. They 
are only suggestions but they will assist the reader 


[ 97 ] 






GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


in constructing other menus which will give variety 
to the diet and will in many cases be more in 
accordance with the individual tastes. 

For convenience in measuring the articles of food 
we give 

A TABLE OF APPROXIMATE MEASUREMENTS 


1 Even teaspoonful . Vq oz. 

1 Dessert spoonful . Ys oz. 

1 Table spoonful . *4 oz. 

1 Teacup . 6 oz. 

1 Tumbler . 8 oz. 

1 Pint . 16 oz. 



Breakfast 


Starch and 

Total 


Protein 

Fats 

Sugar 

Calories 

1 Cup coffee with cream 



and sugar . 

.. 11 

51 

43 

105 

2 Oz. bread or rolls .. 

.. 20 

4 

141 

165 

Vz Oz. butter . 


100 


100 

6 Oz. oatmeal . 

.. 20 

8 

130 

158 

2 Oz. milk and cream 

.. 10 

50 

20 

80 


61 

213 

334 

608 


Tea, chocolate, or cereal coffee can be used in 
place of coffee, or other forms of bread or cereal 
can be used without greatly altering the total calo¬ 
ries of the breakfast as given above. If a more 
hearty meal is desired, eggs, or bacon and eggs can 
be added or can be substituted for the cereal. If 
fruit is used it can be taken either at the commence¬ 
ment or end of the meal. Some people, especially 


[ 98 ] 



















SUGGESTIONS FOR DIET AND MENUS 

those who wish to cut down on the amount of their 

food, take nothing for breakfast 

except 

a little 

fruit. 





Luncheon 






Starch and 

Total 


Protein 

Fats 

Sugar 

Calories 

4 Oz. omelet . 

75 

80 

25 

180 

2 Oz. bread or rolls _ 

20 

4 

141 

165 

4 Oz. lettuce salad, 





French dressing .... 

5 

no 

25 

140 

V 2 Oz. butter . 


100 


100 

4 Oz. custard caramel... 

20 

30 

85 

135 


120 

324 

276 

720 

If desired, other forms of 

eggs, 

salad or 

dessert 

can be used, or fish or 

some 

kind of meat 

can be 

substituted for the omelet. 




Dinner 







Starch and 

Total 


Protein 

Fats 

Sugar 

Calories 

6 Oz. cream of asparagus 





soup . 

22 

28 

50 

100 

4 Oz. roast beef . 

105 

145 


250 

6 Oz. mashed potatoes.. 

15 

3 

132 

150 

4 Oz. string beans . 

12 

3 

37 

52 

4 Oz. spinach . 

8 

2 

15 

25 

2 Oz. wheat rolls . 

20 

4 

141 

165 

V 2 Oz. butter . 


100 


100 

4 Oz. tomato salad, 





mayonnaise dressing. 

7 

112 

25 

144 

4 Oz. ice cream . 

15 

50 

135 

200 


204 

447 

535 

1186 


[ 99 ] 
























GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


These menus are given more to illustrate the 
method of working out the calories of protein, fat 
and carbohydrates in each meal than as an accurate 
menu that should be followed. The separate por¬ 
tions can be made larger or smaller as required. 
The total of three meals as given above shows 
rather too large a proportion of protein. It is in 
fact difficult to keep much below 15% unless vege¬ 
tables and fruits are used quite freely. 


The total 

calories for the 

three 

meals 

are as 

follows: 



Starch and 

Total 


Protein 

Fats 

Sugar 

Calories 

Breakfast .... 

. 61 

213 

334 

608 

Luncheon .... 

. 120 

324 

276 

720 

Dinner. 

. 204 

447 

535 

1186 


385 

984 

1145 

2514 


15% 

38% 

47% 



It is desirable that each one should learn to 
“check up” his diet from prepared tables and so to 
know how much food he is taking and the proper 
proportion of the different elements, but when one 
has learned to judge his food correctly and wisely 
it is better to drop the table and to stop thinking 
about it. It is an injury to digestion and to health 
to be thinking constantly of our food and to make it 
the subject of daily conversation during the meals. 
Once we acquire the habit of eating the right food 
and in the proper amounts, the subject should be 
dismissed from our thoughts and discussions; espe¬ 
cially should the conversation at the table be light 


[ 100 ] 













SUGGESTIONS FOR DIET AND MENUS 


and cheerful in character. If we have any difficult 
problems to solve or any sad or unpleasant news to 
impart it should never be brought to the table. 
Both our health and our happiness demand that the 
table should be kept free from all irritating and 
unpleasant subjects. 


[ 101 ] 













REDUCING AND GAINING IN 

WEIGHT 



X 


REDUCING AND GAINING IN WEIGHT 

A PERSON to enjoy good health should 
neither be too stout nor too thin. An 
^ excess of flesh not only interferes with 
comfort and activity but it frequently 
leads to diseases of vital organs which greatly 
shorten the life. The chances of a fleshy person 
living to the age of sixty-five is much less than 
that of one of average weight. It is therefore very 
important that fleshy people should take measures 
to reduce their weight. 

The normal weight depends chiefly on one’s 
height, but it is also influenced by other considera¬ 
tions. Some people have much heavier bones than 
others. Some are broad and stocky and others are 
slim. There is therefore a variation of 10 or 
15% in the weight of different persons of the same 
height which is natural and entirely healthful, but 
a difference of more than this is unnatural and calls 
for correction. 

Several tables have been prepared showing the 
normal weight of persons of different height. One 
of the most accurate and complete of these has been 
compiled by Brandeth Symonds, A.M., M.D., from 
the records of the life insurance companies. This 
table is made up from the records of 74,162 men 
and 58,855 women who were accepted for insurance, 
thus eliminating those who were too fleshy or too 


[ 105 ] 





GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


thin to make desirable risks for insurance. The 
table is very elaborate, giving separate statistics 
for men and women and for the different ages 
between 15 and 70 years. We have taken for our 
table the figures for the thirtieth year which is the 
time of full bodily vigor. Before the age of thirty 
a person is usually a few pounds lighter than this 
and after thirty the weight gains slowly until at the 
age of sixty the average person is from six to ten 
pounds heavier than at thirty. After sixty most 
people gradually lose in weight and we find few 
stout people after the age of seventy-five. 

The height given in the table includes shoes and 
the weight includes ordinary clothing. It must be 
remembered that the weight is the average weight 
of all the accepted applicants for insurance and not 
the ideal weight of any one individual. A variation 
of 10% from this table is therefore entirely con¬ 
sistent with good health. 

To make the table easy to use, we have given 
the average weight for each height and also ten 
percent above and below this weight. From this 
table and from the explanation given it is easy to 
work out what one’s normal weight should be. 

Persons who find their weight much above the 
limit shown in this table should take measures to 
correct it. The most important of these measures 
is the diet; it is necessary to cut down the amount 
of the food. This can be done by omitting the 
breakfast or luncheon or by taking for these meals 
a smaller amount of food, selecting such articles 
as fruits and vegetables which are low in food value. 


[ 106 ] 






REDUCING AND GAINING IN WEIGHT 


TABLE OF AVERAGE WEIGHT OF MEN AND 
WOMEN OF DIFFERENT HEIGHTS 


Men 


Height 


Average Weight 

10% Above 

10% Below 

5 ft. 

0 

in.... 

. 128 

141 

115 

it it 

1 

it 

. 129 

142 

116 

tt a 

2 

tt 

. 131 

144 

118 

a a 

3 

it 

. 134 

147 

121 

tt a 

4 

tt 

. 138 

152 

124 

it a 

5 

it 

. 141 

155 

127 

a tt 

6 

it 

. 145 

159 

130 

tt tt 

7 

it 

. 150 

165 

135 

u u 

8 

tt 

. 154 

169 

139 

« u 

9 

it 

. 159 

175 

143 

it it 

10 

it 

. 164 

180 

148 

a 

11 

tt 

. 169 

186 

152 

6 ft. 

0 

in.... 

. 175 

192 

157 

it it 

1 

it 

. 181 

199 

163 

it it 

2 

it 

. 188 

206 

169 

it it 

3 

it 

. 195 

214 

175 




Women 



Height 


Average Weight 

10% Above 

10% Below 

5 ft. 

0 

in.... 

. 119 

131 

107 

it tt 

1 

it 

. 121 

133 

109 

tt tt 

2 

a 

. 123 

135 

111 

it it 

3 

it 

. 127 

140 

115 

u u 

4 

it 

. 130 

143 

117 

u u 

5 

u 

. 135 

148 

121 

u u 

6 

it 

. 137 

151 

123 

(( u 

7 

u 

. 143 

157 

129 

tt tt 

8 

tt 

. 147 

162 

133 

(l (l 

9 

it 

. 151 

166 

136 

u u 

10 

tt 

. 155 

170 

139 


[ 107 ] 

































GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


Some recommend the omission from the diet of all 
fats, sugar and starch, as these are the fat-pro¬ 
ducing elements of our food, but such a diet is 
impossible as neither health nor life can be main¬ 
tained without starches and fats. It is much better 
to cut down the quantity of food. If one has been 
eating 2500 calories a day, cut it down to 2000 
calories. Almost any fleshy person can cut off 
from 300 to 500 calories a day from his regular 
diet and not only reduce in weight but steadily 
gain in health and strength. 

In addition to eating less food one should take 
especial pains not to use an excess of fats, starch 
and sugar or to eat meats or foods cooked in grease 
and should eat sparingly of potatoes, bread, cereals 
or other starchy food. Candy and other sweets 
should not be eaten between meals and sugar should 
be omitted from all food or used very sparingly. 
Tea, coffee and cereals will taste just as well with¬ 
out it after a few days’ experience, and it is not 
difficult to get on without sweet desserts. 

Another important means of reducing the flesh is 
to take active exercise. Very few fleshy people take 
sufficient exercise and in many cases this is the 
chief cause of the excessive flesh. The exercise will 
have to be taken up gradually so as to give time 
to develop the weakened muscles, but with patience 
and persistence the strength will come back and the 
exercise will become a source of pleasure as well 
as of restored health. It does not matter what kind 
of exercise is taken provided it is vigorous so as to 
cause perspiration and develop the muscular 


[ 108 ] 






REDUCING AND GAINING IN WEIGHT 


strength. It may be house work, work in the 
garden or on the farm, or it may be golf, tennis, 
long walks, horseback riding or other forms of 
special exercise. The chapter on Exercise will 
give suggestions as to the best form of exercise. 

One must not expect too rapid results in the 
reduction of flesh, but with the loss of two or three 
pounds each week, one will feel so much better 
during the process that it will be a pleasure to 
continue until the normal weight is restored. 

Underweight may be caused by lack of nourish¬ 
ment, diseased nutrition, too hard work or from 
overdevelopment of the nervous system. It is 
usually more difficult to cure underweight than 
overweight, for very frequently it means that the 
digestive organs are out of order or that there is 
some disease which prevents the proper nourish¬ 
ment of the body. 

A frequent cause of underweight is too much 
nervous activity. A person who frets and worries, 
whose mind is exceedingly alert and who gets too 
little sleep is very likely to be thin in flesh. “Laugh 
and grow fat” is an old adage that is founded on a 
basis of truth. 

The treatment of underweight is a generous diet 
of plain, wholesome food, a moderate but not exces¬ 
sive amount of exercise, and an effort to lead a 
quiet happy life, free from worry, excitement or 
undue responsibility. Should there be no improve¬ 
ment under these conditions, consult some respon¬ 
sible established physician and have him make an 
examination to see if there is not some disease 
which is interfering with proper nutrition. 


[ 109 ] 











I 



RANDOM THOUGHTS 




XI 


RANDOM THOUGHTS 

T HERE are a few additional points which 
ought to be brought out on Good Health 
and Long Life that are not closely con¬ 
nected with the topics already treated, and 
these are grouped together in this chapter. 

Be an Optimist 

A person to be well and happy must be an opti¬ 
mist. It is enough to bear the troubles which 
really come to us without suffering for those that 
never come. Borrowing trouble has nothing to do 
with planning for our future actions; it is not 
making provision for the future but is just fret 
and worry, the workings of an unruly and dis¬ 
eased imagination. The optimist even if he is 
wrong does not have his trouble until it arrives. 
The pessimist suffers from it long before it arrives 
as well as after. The pessimist is wretched over 
things that never happen, while the optimist goes 
right along having a good time. 

Pessimism is largely a matter of temperament 
and habit, and it can be cured if one will really 
make the effort. Consider carefully how useless 
and unwise it is and try constantly to see and 
think about the bright side of everything. Study 


[ 113 ] 



GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


and practice the Coue system and you will soon find 
that “Day by day in every way” you are feeling 
better and better. 

Influence of the Mind on Health 

The power of the mind over bodily ills is much 
greater than is generally supposed. Shell-shock, 
which is the absence of mental control is but one 
of the many manifestations of this truth. One who 
is sick and determined to get well is much more 
likely to recover than one who expects to die. 
Many persons lie in bed who with more will power 
might be about the house with great gain to their 
health and comfort. 

Will power may be cultivated and strengthened 
the same as love, affection, sympathy, cheerfulness 
or any other attribute of the mind. We are largely 
the creatures of habit. Those who are accustomed 
to giving up at every obstacle they meet, or who 
yield their judgment to others even when in doubt 
of the wisdom of so doing, very soon lose confidence 
in themselves and lose control of their will power. 
Like other mental qualities will power must be used 
in order to be developed and those who are deficient 
in this quality should take themselves in hand and 
systematically train their wills so that they may 
think and act for themselves. 

Much may also be done by one person to assist 
another in the development of his will power. Many 
of the apparently wonderful cures of the sick, when 
at the word of another they throw away their 


[ 114 ] 





RANDOM THOUGHTS 


crutches and walk or get up from a sick bed where 
they have long lain helpless, are caused by the sud¬ 
den awakening of their will power. The one who 
thus awakens this power may be a forceful preacher, 
a professional healer, or a regular practicing physi¬ 
cian, but in each case the method is the same. A 
person to exercise this influence over another must 
himself have very strong will power so that to some 
extent he is able to transfer this power to his 
patient. Many regular physicians have this ability 
at least to some degree and by inspiring confidence 
and hope in their patients they greatly increase 
the success of their practice. 

In the training of the young it is especially im¬ 
portant that their will power should be developed 
and be brought under control. It is a great mistake 
on the part of the parent or teacher to do all the 
thinking and make all the decisions for a child. 
Many of the important lessons of life can only 
be learned by experience. The child is unwilling 
to accept the experience of another but he must try 
it out for himself. An ounce of experience is often 
worth several pounds of precepts. Children should 
be trusted and given a chance to learn for them¬ 
selves even at the expense of many failures. Give 
them an allowance and teach them the value of 
money by letting them spend for themselves, and 
as they show judgment and discretion enlarge their 
allowance and increase their responsibility. They 
will no doubt make mistakes and will show that 
they are not as wise as their parents, but they will 
rapidly improve and will have an excellent chance 


[ 115 ] 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


of developing into wise and useful men and women 
whereas if they are kept in leading strings with 
no opportunity to develop this self-control they will 
grow up weak and selfish and unfit to care for 
themselves. 

There is another class one sometimes meets who 
need to cultivate will power and will control. Many 
mothers in the care of children make what should 
be a pleasant task into a hardship and ruin the 
behavior, if not the character of their children by 
lack of will power, firmness and consistency in deal¬ 
ing with them. They deny a request without suffi¬ 
cient thought and then after a little teasing they* 
give way and grant it. They are continually nag¬ 
ging their children by interfering in trivial matters 
which had better be left unnoticed. From the stand¬ 
point of the mother it changes what should be a 
loving task into an irksome and disagreeable one, 
and from the standpoint of the child it may culti¬ 
vate his will power, but it makes him headstrong 
and disobedient and causes him to lose his respect 
for the judgment or wishes of his mother. 

There are some people who already have too 
much will power so that they try to dominate every 
one about them. Such persons should take a very 
different treatment and should try to cultivate a 
spirit of modesty with more love and sympathy for 
others and with greater respect for their wishes. In 
this way they will cease to make nuisances of them¬ 
selves and will add greatly to their own popularity, 
usefulness and happiness. 


[ 116 ] 





RANDOM THOUGHTS 


Is Old Age Desirable? 

The question naturally arises, does it pay to make 
all the effort and practice all the self-denial neces¬ 
sary to secure good health and long life on the 
chance of feeling a little better and living a few 
years longer? Why trouble about eating when one 
isn’t sick? And is a prolonged old age desirable 
anyway? Is it not a period of suffering and misery 
rather than of enjoyment and happiness? This is 
the attitude of many people, especially the young. 
Let me assure my readers of the younger generation 
that the problem will look very different to them 
when viewed from their later years of life than it 
does now in their full strength and vigor. Those 
who live to be eighty years old find that the ranks 
of their early friends have been greatly thinned out. 
A considerable number, but not the largest propor¬ 
tion, have died from contagious diseases. Those 
whose neglect of proper living has brought on or¬ 
ganic diseases of the heart, arteries, lungs, kidneys 
or liver, have mostly passed away before the age 
of sixty. Those with weak constitutions, but who 
have been careful in their habits, hold on until they 
are nearly seventy. A few who combined a sound 
constitution with reasonable care of their health 
will pass eighty years, many of them free from pain 
or disease and enjoying to the full the blessings 
which surround them. Keeping one’s self in good 
health not only lengthens the natural span of life, 
but it greatly lessens the chances of taking con- 


[1171 







GOOD HEALTH AND LONG LIFE 


tagious diseases or of their proving fatal in case of 
an attack. Even pneumonia, that scourge alike of 
young and old, is much more likely to attack those 
enfeebled by sickness, overwork or abuse of them¬ 
selves than those in full vigor. 

If I may be pardoned for again intruding my per¬ 
sonality on this question, I should like to give 
another word of personal experience. I know that 
old age can be happy, cheerful, and contented. The 
eye is not so quick, the step is not so elastic, the 
desire and energy for new undertakings is not so 
great, but that is accepted as the natural course 
of events, but the same interest exists in the doings 
of the world, the rise and fall of nations, and in the 
gossip of the neighborhood that was present forty 
years ago. 

Three years ago, at the age of eighty, I worked 
too hard in connection with the perplexing business 
problems connected with the changes following the 
close of the war, and my nervous system was so 
affected that the nerves controlling the action of the 
heart went on a strike and for six months I had 
frequent attacks of skipping of the pulse. On ex¬ 
pert advice I laid aside my work and carefully 
rearranged my diet, dropping tea and coffee, of 
which I had been only a moderate user, and cut¬ 
ting down somewhat on the supply of meat. The 
result was a steady improvement until after about 
one year I found my health fully restored. Not 
only do I feel as well as at any time in ten years, 
but my old vigor and desire to be doing something 
has returned. Under these conditions I took up 


[ 118 ] 







RANDOM THOUGHTS 


the writing of this book for the mere joy of doing 
something. If occasionally I feel a little rheuma¬ 
tism in my shoulder or a twinge of neuritis in my 
hip, I cut down my diet a little more and drink 
a few extra glasses of water and in a day or two 
the pain is gone. 

Old age has joys of its own, and it is a part of 
life that one cannot afford to lose. In looking over 
my past experience, I would as soon have missed 
any other equal span of my life as the last twenty 
years. My young friends, take it from one who 
knows, it pays to live a temperate life, to eat to 
live rather than to live to eat, to be hopeful and 
cheerful, to avoid living for self alone and to con¬ 
sider the rights and interests of others as in every 
way equal to your own. 


[ 119 ] 









I 




APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


T HE analyses of the various articles of food 
are nearly all taken from a Bulletin of 80 
pages prepared for the U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, by W. 0. Atwater, Ph.D. 
It is a very thorough treatise on the subject, and 
anyone especially interested would do well to pro¬ 
cure a copy. All that is necessary is to send ten 
cents to the Government Printing Office, Washing¬ 
ton, D. C., and ask for Bulletin No. 28, Department 
of Agriculture. 

While we have used the data of the Government 
Report we have changed somewhat its form and 
have used as our unit of analysis the average 
amount of food which a person would take at a 
single meal. This, however, is only approximate 
and must not be taken as a standard for each per¬ 
son. The amount of water is given as an item of 
interest but is not included in the calories. 

Table showing the Nutritive Value in Calories of 
the most common Articles of Food: 


DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EGGS 


Carbo- Total 


Milk 

Milk 


Oz. 

8 

1 


Water Protein Fats hydrates Calories 

87% 40 55 65 160 


5 7 8 20 


[ 123 ] 





APPENDIX 


Carbo- Total 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates 

Calories 

Buttermilk . 

8 

88% 

30 

5 

45 

80 

Kumiss . 

8 

90% 

30 

24 

56 

110 

Malted milk .... 

1 

24% 

30 

40 

50 

120 

Mother’s milk .. 

8 

90% 

35 

37 

48 

120 

Cream . 

1 

74% 

6 

44 

10 

60 

Butter . 

y 2 

11% 

1 

99 


100 

Cheese . 

i 

27% 

46 

64 

5 

115 

Cottage . 

2 

72% 

50 

4 

10 

64 

Eggs (1 egg) .... 

2 

72% 

48 

37 


85 


BREAD AND CEREALS 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

Carbo- Total 
hydrates Calories 

Bread: 

Wheat (1 slice) 

2 

35% 

22 

4 

124 

150 

Toasted. 

2 

24% 

26 

4 

145 

175 

French rolls ... 

2 

32% 

22 

6 

132 

160 

Corn muffins .. 

2 

38% 

22 

10 

118 

150 

Buns . 

2 

30% 

22 

18 

140 

180 

Soda biscuits .. 

2 

23% 

23 

42 

150 

215 

Gluten . 

2 

38% 

26 

4 

120 

150 

Whole wheat .. 

2 

38% 

22 

2 

116 

140 

Griddle cakes ... 

3 

27% 

32 

28 

180 

240 

Waffles . 

3 

22% 

32 

28 

220 

280 

Macaroni, cooked 

4 

78% 

15 

8 

77 

100 

Macaroni and 

cheese . 

4 

74% 

36 

34 

70 

140 

Boiled rice . 

6 

72% 

19 

1 

160 

180 

Cream of wheat, 

cooked . 

6 

74% 

20 

4 

136 

160 

Hominy, cooked. 

6 

76% 

16 

2 

142 

160 

Oatmeal, cooked. 

6 

85% 

22 

8 

130 

160 

Puffed rice. 

1 

8% 

9 

1 

90 

100 

Shredded wheat . 

1 

10% 

15 

2 

83 

100 

Sugar . 

1 




115 

115 

2 lumps or 1 hp. 

teaspoonful . 

% 




50 

50 

Honey or thick 

syrup . 

1 

18% 

1 


94 

95 


[ 124 ] 























APPENDIX 


MEATS AND FISH 

Carbo- Total 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Beef : 







Round . 

4 

62% 

135 

75 


210 

Sirloin 

4 

52% 

105 

145 


250 

Rib roast . 

4 

46% 

115 

165 


280 

Dried . 

1 

44% 

50 

10 


60 

Tongue . 

Chicken : 

4 

70% 

130 

70 


200 

Roast . 

4 

63% 

135 

115 


250 

Broiled . 

Mutton : 

4 

74% 

95 

30 


125 

350 

Chops . 

4 

43% 

130 

220 


Roast leg . 

Pork : 

4 

66% 

180 

110 


290 

310 

Chops . 

4 

51% 

114 

196 


Ham . 

4 

59% 

140 

120 


260 

Bacon . 

1 

31% 

20 

120 


140 

Cod . 

4 

55% 

56 

4 


60 

Halibut steak ... 

4 

70% 

90 

25 


115 

Salmon . 

4 

63% 

100 

60 


160 

Shad . 

4 

70% 

60 

30 


90 

Trout . 

4 

75% 

50 

10 


60 

Whitefish . 

4 

70% 

60 

20 

40 

80 

Oysters, medium. 

8 

87% 

66 

14 

120 

Lobster . 

4 

78% 

85 

8 

2 

95 



VEGETABLES 









Carbo- 

Total 


Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Asparagus . 

Beets . 

4 

4 

91% 

87% 

9 

11 

1 

1 

26 

38 

36 

50 

Beans: 

Lima, cooked.. 

4 

68% 

32 

3 

100 

135 

String, cooked. 
Celery (un- 

4 

90% 

12 

2 y 2 

1 

% 

37 

50 

10 

cooked) .... 

2 

94% 

7 


[ 125 ] 





























APPENDIX 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

Carbo- Total 
hydrates Calories 

Cucumber (un¬ 
cooked) .... 

2 

95% 

2 

1 

7 

10 

Cabbage . 

4 

91% 

8 

2 

25 

35 

Cauliflower . 

4 

92% 

9 

3 

23 

35 

Carrots . 

4 

88% 

5 

2 

43 

50 

Com (green) .... 

4 

75% 

15 

5 

90 

110 

Onions . 

4 

87% 

7 

1 

42 

50 

Peas (green) .... 

4 

74% 

32 

3 

75 

110 

Potatoes: 

White . 

4 

75% 

10 

2 

88 

100 

Sweet . 

4 

69% 

8 

3 

114 

125 

Radishes . 

2 

91% 

2Vz 

y 2 

12 

15 

Spinach . 

4 

92% 

9 

i 

15 

25 

Squash . 

4 

88% 

6 

2 

42 

50 

Tomatoes 

(stewed) 

4 

92% 

6 

1 

18 

25 

Turnips . 

4 

90% 

5 

1 

34 

40 

Lettuce . 

4 

94% 

7 

1 

16 

24 


Oz. 

FRUITS 

Water Protein 

Fats 

Carbo- Total 
hydrates Calories 

Apples . 

6 

63% 

2 

3 

70 

75 

Bananas . 

6 

75% 

6 

4 

100 

110 

Cantaloupe . 

8 

89% 

3 


42 

45 

Cherries . 

4 

80% 

4 

1 

75 

80 

Dates . 

2 

15% 

4 

6 

140 

150 

Figs (dried) .... 

2 

18% 

9 

1 

140 

150 

Grapes . 

4 

58% 

5 

6 

69 

80 

Lemons . 

4 

89% 

4 

3 

33 

40 

Orange or Grape¬ 
fruit . 

8 

86% 

6 

1 

73 

80 

Peaches . 

4 

89% 

3 

1 

36 

40 

Pears . 

6 

84% 

3 

2 

85 

90 

Pineapple (fresh) 

4 

89% 

2 

2 

46 

50 

Plums (2) . 

4 

74% 

5 


85 

90 

Prunes (stewed). 

4 

80% 

4 


86 

90 

Raspberries, red . 

4 

85% 

4 


56 

60 

Strawberries .... 

4 

90% 

5 

3 

37 

45 

Watermelon .... 

8 

92% 

2 

1 

27 

30 


[ 126 ] 





























APPENDIX 


PASTRY AND DESSERTS 







Carbo- 

Total 


Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Chocolate . 

1 

6% 

24 

94 

52 

170 

Cocoa . 

1 

5% 

33 

45 

62 

140 

Caramel custard. 

4 

60% 

20 

30 

85 

135 

Cake, plain . 

Ice cream, aver- 

4 

20% 

30 

45 

255 

330 

age . 

4 

40% 

15 

50 

135 

200 

Pie: 







Double crust 







and fruit ... 

4 

40% 

18 

48 

234 

300 

Mince . 

Custard or 

4 

41% 

33 

72 

220 

325 

pumpkin ... 

4 

62% 

24 

36 

140 

200 

Pudding, rice, 


60% 





tapioca . 

4 

20 

30 

150 

200 

Raisins . 

Almonds with 

1 

14% 

3 

5 

92 

100 

shells . 

1 

5% 

22 

60 

18 

100 

Brazil with shells 
Olives : 

1 

5% 

20 

70 

10 

100 

Green . 

1 

42% 

2 

42 

18 

62 

Ripe . 

Peanuts with 

1 

52% 

4 

44 

10 

58 

shells . 

1 

7% 

34 

50 

31 

115 

Pecans with 







shells . 

1 

2% 

12 

72 

16 

100 

Walnuts with 







shells . 

1 

1% 

12 

40 

8 

60 

CONDIMENTS AND SAUCES 







Carbo- 

Total 


Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Mayonnaise .... 

1 


5 

100 

5 

no 

Olive Oil . 

1 



225 


225 

French Dressing . 

1 



110 

10 

120 





















APPENDIX 


SALADS 

Carbo- Total 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Lettuce, French 
Dressing .... 

4 

80% 

5 

110 

25 

140 

Vegetable, French 
Dressing .... 

4 

76% 

8 

112 

35 

155 

Chicken, Mayon¬ 
naise Dressing 

4 

58% 

105 

185 

10 

300 


SOUPS 


Carbo- Total 



Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Cream of Aspara- 







gus . 

4 

87% 

22 

28 

50 

100 

Cream of Corn.. 

4 

86% 

15 

10 

40 

65 

Chicken Gumbo. 

4 

89% 

30 

8 

37 

75 

Pea . 

4 

86% 

18 

4 

38 

60 

Tomato . 

4 

90% 

14 

10 

46 

70 



SANDWICHES 









Carbo- 

Total 


Oz. 

Water 

Protein 

Fats 

hydrates Calories 

Chicken . 

4 

44% 

66 

35 

186 

287 

Tongue . 

4 

44% 

65 

36 

186 

287 

Ham . 

4 

41% 

68 

33 

186 

287 

Egg . 

4 

44% 

57 

24 

186 

267 


[ 128 ] 













































* 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































